Changing The Rules
by HollyFire
Summary: This is the sequel to my alt. universe Sixth Doctor/Rose story, "Possibilities". It's important to read that story first.
1. Chapter 1

_**Changing The Rules (Sequel to 'Possibilities')**_

_**This story is also posted on , though it's not finished yet. This story features, along with the 6th Doctor and Rose, the 7th Doctor, 4th Doctor, Valeyard, and an earlier incarnation of the Valeyard--the 4th one to be exact (who will be referred to as the 4th Doctor or 4th incarnation of the Valeyard). The usual disclaimers apply, I don't own Doctor Who, etc.  
**_

"The Valeyard is on that Tardis?", Rose asked the Doctor in disbelief.

The Doctor continued working the controls as he replied in clipped, businesslike tones that conveyed just how much stress he was under to save his ship, "Yes, Rose. Now, there's not much time left before the Valeyard circumvents all of the Old Girl's security measures. When that happens, the console room will become completely vulnerable and the Valeyard will be able to just waltz on in here. He's already taken control of over fifty percent of the Old Girl's systems." He abruptly stopped talking and looked up at Rose. He had a grim, determined look on his face as he stated very calmly, "Rose, when I give the word, I'll need you to leave the Tardis. You are to hide and wait nearby. Under no circumstances are you to rush to my defense. I'm going to need some help with this, but unfortunately, you cannot and will not help me. I don't know why, but I believe the Valeyard's target is you, not me. And I'll be damned if I let him get his hands on you!", the Doctor stated adamantly.

Rose came over to the Doctor's side and placed her hand on his forearm gently and replied with absolute confidence while gazing into his eyes, "It'll be okay, Doctor. I trust you to come up with a brilliant plan. Speaking of which, you said you're going to need help. Who are you going to get to help?"

The Doctor gazed lovingly into Rose's eyes and cupped her cheek with his hand, as he stated more calmly, "I'm going to establish a telepathic link with one of my future selves, my seventh self. I've run into him once before and he's just the right 'me' for the job," the Doctor grinned slyly. "I figure the two of us against the Valeyard should just about even the odds in my favor. The Valeyard won't know what hit him."

"Also, I'll need someone to keep an eye on you while you're on this planet, just in case you run into trouble. For that part of the plan, I'll establish a telepathic link with one of my past selves. Now, the only question is, which one of my past selves would be perfect for the job of protecting you. Hmm…I've got it! The perfect 'me' for the job would be my fourth self. I was very tall and imposing back in those days, which was surprising considering I always wore that damn ridiculously long scarf. Anyways, you'll like him, Rose. I've also run into him once before and we had a fantastic time on Pauate at this great restaurant I'll have to take you to sometime. He had the whole place rolling with laughter and he was quite charming with the ladies." At Rose's raised eyebrows and smile to that statement, the Doctor, realizing what she must have been thinking, said, "Well, not charming in that sense, no. What I meant was that he was charming in the way that a lovable family member would be. Besides, I was nowhere near as handsome back then as I am now," he grinned at Rose and gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"You are so full of yourself, you know that," Rose said light heartedly as she embraced the Doctor in a hug. She pulled away quickly and said, as she started walking towards the chair on the other side of the console, "Now, you have to get to work contacting your fourth and seventh selves. I'll just step away and sit down over here."

The Doctor smiled at her, quickly checked the monitors to make sure the Valeyard hadn't taken over much more of the Tardis systems yet, and then made his way to the far side of the room. He lay down on the floor, closed his eyes and prepared himself for the telepathic links. He briefly went over his choices again. He knew he was right to choose his seventh self. That version of him was cunning and manipulative enough to be more than a match for the Valeyard.

What gave him pause was the choice for Rose's protector. He had shrugged off and joked to her about his fourth self's charming personality, but he hadn't been completely truthful. Yes, his fourth self was charming, but in a completely gentlemanly way that had made more than one female's head turn back in the day. He knew that his fourth self would be more than able to look after Rose and he was sure that he and Rose would become great friends. Then why did he suddenly feel unsure, as if he was worried about what could happen if Rose met his fourth self? That incarnation of himself was completely trustworthy and would do anything to protect his companions. He also knew deep down that his fourth self had a love for Earth and humans that was unmatched. He remembered how attached he had become, in that incarnation, to one particular human, Sarah Jane.

He then realized what it was that had given him pause. Rose was quite similar to Sarah Jane, in terms of fierce loyalty, bravery, and beauty. Stop right there. I refuse to go down that path, he thought to himself. There's no time for it. I've made up my mind. I have to do this. Rose will be fine with him. Besides, she chose me to travel with and she loves me. With himself just about fully convinced, he took a deep breath and began to establish the telepathic link with his seventh and fourth selves.

About five minutes after the Doctor had begun the telepathic link, the lights flickered in the console room and then went out. The only light source came from the console's time rotor and some of the buttons on the console. Rose stood up and moved to where the Doctor was still lying down. She knew she couldn't wake him up, not while he was still engaged in the link. She looked toward the door, leading to the rest of the Tardis. Through the small round window of the door, she could see the hallway bathed in darkness, so there was no way of telling if the Valeyard was standing just outside the door and peering in. She wrapped her arms around herself and felt an involuntary shiver at the thought of this Timelord who had caused the Doctor so much trouble. When the Doctor had informed her of his trial, she knew that he wasn't telling her the whole story. She hadn't wanted to pry at the time. Now, she wished she had asked to be told as much about the Valeyard as possible. She liked to know what she was standing up against. Of course, the Doctor had said that he would give the word when it was time for her to leave the Tardis. He hadn't said, though, what to do if the Valeyard got to the console room before he woke up from the link.

She inched her way closer to the doors that led outside the Tardis and decided to open one of them a bit, just to see what was awaiting her out there. She was relieved to see they had landed in a heavily dense forest, and it appeared, at first glance, that there was nobody around waiting to ambush her. The forest looked just like an Earth forest and the sky had beautiful sunset hues. The air smelled different, though. It smelled like a combination of lavender and vanilla. She took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of two of her favorite fragrances.

At that moment, she thought she heard the sound of the door knob, of the inner door, move. What if the Valeyard finds a way to lock the outer doors before I can get outside, she thought to herself. I should leave now while I can. I just wish I could say goodbye to the Doctor before I go. Who knows how long it'll be before I see him again. Starting to feel extremely worried at the thought of what could go wrong with his plan, she glanced at the Doctor one last time, fully opened the outer door, and walked outside.

She walked about ten feet from the side of the Tardis and decided to sit down behind a wide tree. She had a clear view of anyone who would be coming out of the Tardis. While waiting, she spent the time wondering what was happening in there. Was that the Valeyard trying to get inside the console room earlier? Did the Doctor wake up from the link before the Valeyard got inside? Also, where was the Seventh Doctor? Shouldn't his Tardis be here by now? And where was she supposed to meet up with the Fourth Doctor, or was he supposed to arrive at this location, too? Damn, I wish there had been enough time to find out all these details, she thought to herself. She looked at her watch and realized that only ten minutes had passed. Still, no one had exited the Tardis. Still, there were no sounds of another Tardis dematerializing. She was beginning to think it had been a false alarm, that the door knob hadn't really moved, and that she should walk back inside the Tardis. It was at that point that she felt a tingling sensation. She looked down and realized that she was being transported away. A few seconds afterward, the Seventh Doctor's Tardis dematerialized nearby.

Rose's first thought, upon opening her eyes, was that she wished whoever was making the room spin would stop. She closed her eyes, concentrating on fighting down the nausea. The sounds of footsteps could be heard from nearby, along with the sound of a deep, commanding voice. The footsteps became louder as they approached her location. She opened her eyes a bit and realized that she was in a dimly lit room on a hard cot, with a small window on one wall and a door similar to what would be in a jail cell. There was a faint purplish light emanating from the window, indicating that it may be dusk out. Hell, for all I know, it could be just before sunrise, she thought to herself. How long have I been here and what happened to the Doctor? Where is here? As these questions circled around in her mind, she realized the dizziness and nausea had diminished considerably. Probably a result of that transporter thing they used on me, she thought as she slowly sat up on the cot.

She was facing away from the cell door and looking towards the window, when she realized the sound of the footsteps had become considerably louder and then stopped. She got the sense that whosever they belonged to, they were standing right at her cell door. Not knowing what to expect, she slowly turned around. She wasn't prepared for who she saw standing there along with the guard.

Yes, she noticed his tall, imposing form and his ridiculously long scarf, but it wasn't just those things that gave him away. It was his eyes, the color of a brilliantly blue Earth sky, which shone with wisdom and the infinite complexities of time. Although his face was set in a serious expression, his eyes conveyed all the warmth and trust she associated with her Doctor. She immediately began to relax and a smile started to form on her face. It was then she realized that she probably shouldn't be smiling now. She wasn't sure what he had told the guard and she didn't want to blow his cover. Before she looked away from his face, she heard a voice in her head that said kindly, 'Trust me. I'll explain later."

The Doctor broke eye contact with Rose and stated in a calm voice, which brooked no nonsense, "Guard, open the door now. I have a schedule to keep and the Timelords mustn't be kept waiting." Rose had been looking down and had to keep herself from looking up quickly, in shock at his statement, and asking what the hell was going on. She felt intuitively that she had to play the subdued prisoner in order for the Doctor's plan to work. The guard opened the door and walked up to Rose. He grabbed her arm tightly and yanked her up. She involuntarily cried out in pain, thinking that he had twisted something. In a flash, the Doctor strode into the cell and punched the guard square on the jaw. The guard lost his hold on Rose and went careening across the floor, where he hit his head on the wall.

The Doctor then looked at Rose and said, "Now that that's settled, let's get back to my Tardis, Miss Tyler, so I can take a look at your arm and fill you in on what's going on here." All she could do was nod. She was surprised at how fast he had moved and by what he had done. He noticed her expression and said calmly, "Never mind him. I didn't hit him that hard. Come on. We don't have much time before the other guards arrive." He held out his hand to her and, using the hand on the side of her uninjured arm, she took his. There was no type of electric current feeling similar to when she had first held the Sixth Doctor's hand. No, this was different. She briefly looked down at their hands. Her hand fit perfectly in his and looked as if it was always meant to be there. He noticed her gaze and looked down at their hands. He then looked up at her face, gave her hand a gentle squeeze and said in a way that was almost a question, "Trust me, Miss Tyler." At her slight nod and hopeful smile, he gave a brilliant smile, turned away and led her in the direction of his Tardis.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

The Doctor slowly opened his eyes and smiled. He had been successful in establishing a telepathic link with his Seventh and Fourth selves and conveying all the details in order to get both of them up to speed about Rose and the current situation with the Valeyard. Speaking of which, why was it so dark in here? It was time to see what else the Valeyard had gotten up to while the Doctor had been in the telepathic link. He stood up and went over to the console. He was relieved to find that the Valeyard had only gotten control of sixty percent of the Old Girl's systems. It was at this point that he realized how quiet it was in the room and how it felt like he was totally alone. He looked towards the chair sitting on the opposite side of the console and his suspicion was confirmed. Rose wasn't there. She wouldn't have gone outside just because the lights went out, would she, he thought to himself. No, something else had happened. Did the Valeyard come outside the door leading to the rest of the ship? No, he wouldn't just stop there and peer inside the console room. He would've just strolled on in here, especially if he had noticed me lying on the floor and if he had seen Rose in here.

It was then that the door, leading to the rest of his ship, opened. The Valeyard confidently walked through. The Doctor stood by the console, an annoyed expression on his face as he asked pompously, "To what do I owe this excruciating pleasure, 'Brickyard'?

The Valeyard smiled, yet his eyes remained cold and calculating. "Well, well Doctor. Not much of a greeting for your old 'friend'. No questions about why I only stopped at sixty percent, why I chose Mycenae in this time period to drag your Tardis to, or why I was able to just stroll on into your console room? Tsk, tsk. Bad form, Doctor. Manners must be upheld, no matter the 'unique' circumstances we find ourselves in."

Now why did he put emphasis on the word 'unique', the Doctor thought to himself.

"You are such an open book, Doctor. I can read your thoughts as clear as day. You really must learn to better properly shield your mind. Or have you forgotten that basic rule from our old Academy days," he tauntingly asked.

"State your business here, Valeyard. As you can see, I am extremely busy, what with you mucking about with my Tardis. Why don't you just take your Tardis and shove off back to your own universe," the Doctor replied in a bored voice laced with annoyance.

"I'm afraid I can't leave just yet. You see, you have something that I want. Well, that's not entirely true. You have something that the Council wants," the Valeyard stated as his eyes glittered with delight at what he was about to inform the Doctor of.

"Out with it, Valeyard. I don't have the time or patience to play twenty questions with you," the Doctor's voice sounded calm, but he couldn't help the extreme concern that began to creep into his mind at the mention of the word 'Council'. The Doctor looked down at the controls and asked in a voice he hoped didn't sound concerned, "By the way, to which 'Council' are you referring?" The Doctor couldn't help the ever so slight shake in his voice. He tried to shield his deep concern and fear from him, but he knew it was useless. The Valeyard already had picked up on his emotions.

"The High Council of the Timelords, Doctor," the Valeyard was greatly enjoying this. Now for the final nail in the proverbial coffin. He only need wait for the Doctor's next obvious question.

"The High Council", the Doctor exclaimed loudly, deciding to hell with trying to mask his roiling emotions any longer. "What could they possibly want that I have?"

"Well, I may have misspoken earlier. You see, it's not so much a question of 'something' as 'someone'," the Valeyard replied in a mock apologetic tone.

Oh no. No, please not her, the Doctor silently prayed to Rassilon. Out loud he asked, in a deadly calm voice, "And just whom are you referring to?"

The Valeyard grinned slowly in a way that made the Doctor's skin crawl and which reminded him of that cartoon, the Grinch. He then exclaimed loudly, as if addressing the Council right there, "My dear Doctor, surely you've guessed by now who the High Council has fixed their sights on? The one 'unique' human who can help the Gallifrey of my universe to defeat the Daleks once and for all! Who, in her own universe, looked into the 'Heart of the Tardis' and had the Time Vortex itself running through her! Who, with just a single thought, erased the Dalek Emperor and the Daleks from existence!" The Valeyard's eyes were gleaming maniacally as he stated with confidence, "My mission is to take your precious companion with me back to the Gallifrey of my universe. You, dear Doctor, have no hope of deterring me by yourself. I know you contacted your Seventh incarnation, but where is he, I ask," the Valeyard spread his arms wide and looked around the console room.

At the Doctor's shrug of his shoulders and his calm demeanor, the Valeyard quickly looked confused. Why wasn't the Doctor angrily ordering him to stay away from his companion? What was he playing at? He's got something up his sleeve, the Valeyard realized. How can that be? I read his mind. I saw that he had only contacted his Seventh self. What else…oh no. The Valeyard then realized something important.

As realization dawned in the Valeyard's eyes, the Doctor nodded and calmly replied, "That's right. I only showed you what I wanted you to see. I am one step ahead of you, Valeyard." The Doctor then hit the control that turned on the view screen. It showed the Seventh Doctor's Tardis outside. "Did you not wonder why you were only able to take over half of my Tardis systems? Did you not wonder why it was so easy for you to make your way up here to my console room? I wanted you to come here at just the right moment."

"The right moment for what," the Valeyard sneered, but he could only muster it half-heartily. He was no longer in control of the situation, and that frightened him.

The Doctor motioned that he look at the view screen. What he saw on there surprised him, to say the least. The Seventh Doctor had just stepped out of his own Tardis and was making his way to the Sixth Doctor's Tardis. When the outer door of the Tardis opened the Seventh Doctor, with his dark brown suit, hat, and brolly came sauntering in, as if he had just come in from a relaxing walk in the park. He smiled benignly at the Valeyard, but his eyes were another story. The eyes of The Oncoming Storm bored into the Valeyard's for about seven seconds. Afterwards, the Valeyard appeared pale and shaken, as if he had stared straight into the eyes of Rassilon himself.

The Seventh Doctor stepped back a bit from the Valeyard and stated in a voice that would brook nothing but absolute obedience, "Get back in your Tardis and return to the Gallifrey of your universe. Tell your High Council that, no matter how dire their war with the Daleks, they will never have the opportunity to use Rose Tyler for their gain."

The Valeyard, still looking pale, asked in a voice mixed with fear and awe, "You're nothing like your previous self. You seem to be something more than the Doctor. What are you, really?"

The Seventh Doctor gave a calculating look at the Valeyard, walked closer to him, and whispered one word in his ear. The Sixth Doctor had no idea what that one word was, but from the Valeyard's shocked and horrified reaction, the Doctor didn't really care at the moment. The Valeyard walked backwards out of the console room, not even giving the Sixth Doctor a second thought, and made a run for it back to his own Tardis in the conservatory. The Sixth Doctor made an adjustment to the view screen controls and watched as it showed the Valeyard running into his own Tardis and dematerializing.

The Sixth Doctor looked at the Seventh Doctor, smiled, and held out his hand to the Seventh Doctor. As the Seventh Doctor walked over to his former self, smiled and shook his hand, the Sixth Doctor said, "Thanks for helping me out, Doctor. One question though, what did you glean from looking into the Valeyard's mind?"

The Seventh Doctor replied, "I found out what we need to know about the Valeyard's plan for kidnapping your companion and taking her to the High Council. Apparently, he had hired a few mercenary guards to transport her away from this location to one of their holding facilities. From there, he would rendezvous with them and personally take her to Gallifrey."

The Sixth Doctor put both hands flat on the console and looked down, deep in thought with concern and fear etching his features. After a few seconds, he looked up at him and asked, "Is it true, what the Valeyard said Rose would be used for? Does she have enough of the time vortex left in her to actually defeat the Daleks in the Valeyard's universe? Would the High Council actually believe that those means would justify the end result?"

The Seventh Doctor looked down at the console momentarily, as if collecting his thoughts. He then looked up at his former self and stated bluntly, "Our fellow High Council members put you on trial for your life and tore you away from Peri. What makes you think the High Council in another universe, faced with the destruction of Gallifrey, wouldn't do whatever it had to in order to survive?"

The Sixth Doctor nodded his head and replied, "Yes, you're right. No matter the cost, we can't let them have Rose. She's too precious to me. I don't know what you said to the Valeyard to get him spooked, and I don't need to know at the moment. You know, though, that the Valeyard is extremely resilient and won't give up that easily."

The Seventh Doctor looked at him and said, "I know, Doctor. With the help of our Fourth incarnation, I believe we'll be able to defeat whatever other plan the Valeyard has in store." He then looked away for a moment, as if recalling a great memory. "I had this one human companion, Ace McShane. She was brilliant. You would have liked her. Unfortunately, she moved on." He then looked at his former self and stated, with regret and sadness in his voice, "they all move on, Doctor. Rose can't stay with you forever."

The Sixth Doctor looked at his future self and stated resolutely, "I don't need forever. I just need this moment in my time line to be with her, traveling in my Tardis. No one will take her away from me, not the High Council and not the Valeyard." No one, not even my Fourth incarnation, he thought to himself.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Oddly enough, the Fourth Doctor and Rose made it out of the building without running into any other guards. Upon leaving, Rose turned around and saw that they had actually been in the basement level of an enormous mansion. There was a gravel road leading away and nothing but forest surrounding it. Rose's earlier guess about it being around dusk was correct, for she saw twin silvery moons in the darkening sky amid an array of stars. The Doctor still held Rose's hand gently, but firmly as he pushed aside a branch to lead them into the woods. The light from the moons and stars made it fairly easy to see the narrow dirt path they were walking on and they made it to the Doctor's Tardis within minutes.

Rose noticed, as he was unlocking the Tardis door, that his key looked very different from hers. He noticed her curious look and responded matter of factly, "I have been known to change the lock from time to time." He pushed open the door and guided her inside, his hand gently touching the small of her back.

As she walked inside, she was pleasantly surprised by the difference in appearance to her Doctor's Tardis. This console room was done in dark wood paneling, which gave it a sort of Jules Verne quality, if she was remembering her classic stories correctly. The console itself looked very small without the time rotor. Rose had only managed to walk a few steps into the Tardis, which made the Doctor have to walk around her. He took off his fedora hat and hung it on the coat rack in the corner. He made his way to the inner door of the Tardis, turned around to Rose and said warmly, "The med bay is this way, Ms. Tyler, if you'll follow me." He held the door open for her and she made her way to the door. Before walking through the door, she smiled at him and said, "You know, you don't have to keep calling me 'Ms. Tyler'. My name's Rose."

Smiling, his eyes twinkling in amusement, he replied, "I can assure you I know far more about you than just your name."

Her curiosity piqued, she asked as she walked through the door, "What exactly did my Doctor tell you about me?"

"Oh, he told just the necessary information, including the fact that you are very important to him. I dare say my future self has fallen completely for you. I can't say that I blame him," he stated in that deep, charming voice of his that Rose was sure would make just about any woman weak in the knees. Hell, she was certain that if he were to read a phone book out loud, he would make it sound intriguing.

"Thank you for the compliment, Doctor. I must say that your future self was right in what he said about you," she replied, as she began to walk down the hallway. She saw a door open up immediately on the left and knew the 'Old Girl' had just shown her where the med bay was.

As she was walking towards it, he asked curiously as he walked behind her, "Just what did my future self have to say about me?"

At the door to the med bay, she turned around and found him standing close, but not too close to be uncomfortable. She stated matter of factly, "Well, you know, that you can be very charming with women."

As she turned back around to head into the med bay, he placed a hand gently on her shoulder to halt her movement. She turned around and saw that his eyes looked so serious and compassionate. "Rose, although it's true that I can be very outgoing and friendly to all manner of beings, especially females, I want you to know that I take this mission that we're on extremely seriously. You are under my protection, and I will do whatever necessary to save you from what the Valeyard and the Timelords have planned for you. The manner in which I go about things may be different from how your Doctor would go about them. I will need you to trust me implicitly, without question, even if you don't understand, at the time, why I take certain actions. Can you do this for me, Rose?"

She nodded her head and said with conviction, "Of course, Doctor. I trust you, like I trust my Doctor. You haven't said yet why the Timelords want me, but I know that you will when the time is right."

He smiled hopefully at her, his eyes warm and compassionate, and replied, "Thank you, Rose. That's all I needed to know. Before I treat that bruise on your arm, I need you to do something else for me."

She placed her hand gently on his forearm and said, "Anything, Doctor." She was about to ask what he wanted her to do, when she realized he was staring so intently into her eyes. She found herself unwilling to look away. She heard his voice in her head saying, "Trust me, Rose." She noticed something else in his eyes behind the warmth and compassion, and two words came to mind that seemed to describe it perfectly. It was intense determination. All of a sudden, she started to have flashbacks of events of her time with the Ninth Doctor and Tenth Doctor. She couldn't control which flashbacks she was having, nor the speed with which they popped up in her mind.

At that point she realized, with confusion, that the Doctor was, without her permission, sifting through all of her memories. She tried to close her eyes and shut him out of her mind, but his mental abilities were too powerful for her. Is this what he meant earlier about me trusting him implicitly, she asked herself. She stated loudly in her mind, 'Stop it, Doctor!', but her memories kept coming. She didn't know how much time had passed. All of a sudden, the flashbacks ceased and she felt herself crumbling to the floor. She felt his arms catch her and his voice stating in a matter of fact way, "It needed to be done." Before she knew it, she had lost consciousness.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

A third Tardis dematerialized next to the Sixth Doctor's Tardis and Seventh Doctor's Tardis. The occupant walked up to the Sixth Doctor's Tardis and opened the door. He found the Sixth Doctor and Seventh Doctor at the console, deep in conversation. They both turned around as he entered. "Sorry I'm late, Doctors. I had to drop off my human companion back on Earth before I could arrive." At their shocked and mortified expressions, he stated, "Look, I know it's been a very long time since either of you have seen my trusty scarf, but it can't look that ridiculous!" He then felt their fear and concern. "What's happened," he asked with concern as he strode over to where they were standing.

The Sixth Doctor was still speechless. The Seventh Doctor was the first to regain his composure. "We had been monitoring this planet's communications channels, in the hopes of finding out just where the Mycenaens and the Valeyard were keeping Rose. Before you stepped in here, we had just heard that Rose had been rescued from a place not too far from this location. Her rescuer matched your description.

"I'm afraid it wasn't I who did the rescuing, Doctor, though I wish I could have arrived here sooner," he stated as he read the communiqué on the monitor that detailed Rose's escape.

The Seventh Doctor looked at the Sixth Doctor, who had his head bowed and his hands pressed flat against the console. Anger, confusion, and fear etched his features as he looked up at his other selves and stated, "It was the Fourth incarnation of the Valeyard."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
**

Rose slowly awoke in a dimly lit med bay. At first, she wondered what she was doing in there. Then, everything came back in a rush. Why did he look through my memories like that, she thought to herself in confusion mixed with concern. It was then that the door to the med bay opened, allowing a soft yellow light from the hallway to filter into the room. The Doctor leaned against the doorframe, looking at Rose intently. The room was just bright enough to make out the serious expression on his face, but it was difficult for her to see the look in his eyes. If she had been able to, she would have seen a touch of remorse mixed with an absolute resolve for him to see his mission through. For about thirty seconds, neither one of them spoke. Rose had sat up on the side of the bed, trying to figure out just what was going through his mind and wondering what his true motives were.

She was about to speak, when he broke the silence. "I apologize only for the confusion and concern that my act caused you. I will not apologize for doing what I did. Like I said, before you lost consciousness, it had to be done. Remember what I told you, that I need you to trust me implicitly, even though my methods may seem questionable to you?" At Rose's slight nod in the affirmative, he continued, "I wish I could enlighten you as to my true motives, but I cannot at this time, for that would jeopardize the entire mission. You must believe that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe." He slowly walked over to her bed, his hands in his pockets, as he said, "All I can tell you, at this time, is that the memories I viewed of your past experiences with my future selves is quite valuable. I had to know everything about your memories. They are the key to the success of the mission. The less you know about the mission, the safer you will be." He stood in front of her, leaned towards her, and placed a hand on either side of where she was sitting.

Rose gazed into his intensely blue eyes, searching for the truth of his words. She saw the friendship and compassion he held for her. This was mixed with intense determination, as evidenced by his statements of this mysterious mission of theirs to keep her safe from the Valeyard. With what he had done earlier, she should have felt concerned that he would try to look through her memories again. For some strange reason, she didn't feel that way at all. She should have felt uncomfortable with his hands on either side of her, blocking her from standing up. She, quite to her surprise, felt safe in his presence.

As soon as she had that thought, he smiled in relief and said in that deep voice of his that she found oddly soothing yet sensual at the same time, "I'm glad you do, again. I was worried that you would no longer trust me." He gently touched her cheek and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I wish you could tell me everything about the mission, but I accept your apology, Doctor," she replied. She was about to ask if he could tell her when they would be meeting up with her Doctor when she heard footsteps walking down the hallway.

Immediately, the Doctor's expression grew serious and his body tensed. Before he backed away from her, to allow her to get off the bed, he whispered urgently in her ear, "Trust me, Rose. From here on out, nothing is as it seems." He moved away from her and faced the door, just as the newcomer arrived.

"My dear former self, how nice of you to meet me here on time, and with the precious companion." Gazing at her as if he had just found the key to an ancient civilization, he stated, "How do you do, Miss Tyler? I am the Valeyard. Welcome to Gallifrey."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Having received an urgent telepathic message from the Gallifrey of their own universe, the Fourth Doctor said his goodbyes to the Sixth and Seventh Doctors. At first, he didn't want to leave, but his future selves persuaded him of the vital importance that he return to Gallifrey. Both of them remembered all too well what kind of crisis awaited the Fourth Doctor there. After the Fourth Doctor's Tardis dematerialized, the Sixth Doctor looked at the Seventh Doctor and stated with grim determination, "To Gallifrey?"

"To Gallifrey," the Seventh Doctor replied with equal determination and walked to his own Tardis.

The Sixth Doctor punched in the coordinates on his console as he saw, on the view screen, the Seventh Doctor's Tardis dematerialize. The beginning of their plan was simple, really. Both agreed on preset coordinates to land both of their Tardis's a few miles from the Citadel to avoid detection. Since they were about to enter the unknown, the Gallifrey of the Valeyard's universe, they didn't know what to expect. The Doctor briefly watched the time rotor move, as the Old Girl dematerialized, and lowered his head, deep in thought. Doubting that a telepathic message would reach Rose from another universe away, but doing so anyways, he sent her a simple message, "We're coming for you, Rose. I love you." With that done, he walked over to his chair, turned it around to face away from the console, and sat down to mentally prepare for the challenge ahead.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

At the Valeyard's statement, Rose, trying not to let him see her fear and confusion, stated boldly, "So you're the one who's been giving my Doctor so much trouble. What could the Timelords want with me, a 'lowly' human?"

The Valeyard smiled at her appraisingly, looked at the Doctor, and replied, "I can see why he loves her. She's quite brave to address me in that manner."

As the Valeyard began to walk towards her, the Doctor casually stepped in his way and asked, "When does the High Council expect her at the Citadel?"

The Doctor's somewhat protective gesture of Rose did not go unnoticed by the Valeyard, who said with a touch of suspicion, "I am to bring her before the High Council upon her arrival to Gallifrey. That is why I came aboard your Tardis. Why the sudden interest in the timing of her appearance?"

The Doctor casually leaned against the bed where Rose was sitting and replied, "Well, if you want her to make her grand entry looking like she is presently, that is your prerogative. Might I suggest, though, that she have time to go to the wardrobe room to change into something more becoming a 'Savior of Gallifrey', that is, 'if' she happens to do what 'you' believe she is capable of."

Raising his eyebrows in surprise, instead of the slight suspicion from just a few moments ago, the Valeyard looked straight into the eyes of the Doctor as if he was searching for confirmation of the Doctor's doubts in Rose's abilities. After about twenty seconds, in what Rose thought must have been some type of telepathic communication, the Valeyard looked down and walked away slowly as if the weight of the world were on his shoulders. "I have failed the High Council. She is not what I believed she was," he stated in shocked disbelief.

Turning around, he looked first to Rose and then to his former self. "What you have shown me of her memories confirms my very worst fears. How my Tenth self could have thought she might have been able to defeat the Daleks is beyond me now. He severely over exaggerated the few memories he had gleaned from his meeting with her and the Sixth Doctor on the Gallifrey of the Sixth Doctor's universe. To think, I risked everything to have her brought here. Now I am faced with the wrath of the Sixth Doctor and his future self." At the mention of the Seventh Doctor, the Valeyard involuntarily shuddered, "I tell you, the Seventh Doctor is not what he appears to be. He is something entirely new. Doctor, if you could be so kind as to see Miss Tyler safely back to the Sixth and Seventh Doctors." The Valeyard then walked out of the med bay. The Fourth Doctor turned, winked and smiled briefly at Rose, then followed after him.

As the Valeyard was walking through the console room to the outer doors of the Tardis, the Doctor asked, "The Timelords of your own personal timeline will be able to defeat the Daleks, won't they?"

The Valeyard turned around, smiled ruefully and replied in a determined voice, with some of his former smugness returning, "That is the general idea."

Before he took another step, the Doctor asked, "One more question, if you will. What did you mean about the Seventh Doctor?"

The Valeyard, while looking into the distance, replied, "He whispered one word to me. He spoke it with such a level of importance and power, the likes of which I have never heard before." He then looked at the Doctor and stated, in a voice filled with fear and awe, before walking out the door, "When I asked him what he was, he stated one word. I honestly believe it was his true name. It was 'Omega'.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

As the Fourth Doctor walked back toward the med bay, he pondered what the Valeyard had told him. How can the Seventh Doctor also be Omega? He must have just been fooling the Valeyard. He decided to put these thoughts in the back of his mind for the time being to ponder over later. As he walked to the entrance of the med bay, he looked inside and found Rose still sitting on the bed, a distant look in her eyes. He halted at the door and leaned against the entrance for a moment, as he fought down a sudden wave of apprehension. He didn't have to be telepathic to know what she was thinking. The look on her face spoke volumes. She was thinking of what the Valeyard had assumed about her and wondering if she indeed did have any remaining vortex energy left to help the Gallifrey of this universe to defeat the Daleks.

He recalled the memories, gleaned from her mind, of the Doctors she had originally traveled with and the deep overwhelming pain those incarnations had felt regarding what had to be done to end The Time War. She had wished she could have done more to help ease the pain that the Ninth and Tenth Doctors had felt, even though both incarnations had assured her that she had helped them in more ways than she could ever know. He knew where her line of thought would be leading her and he had to prevent her from even briefly considering it. Not just because he feared the retaliation the Sixth and Seventh Doctors would throw upon him, but because it would mean the ultimate sacrifice, her life.

Firmly placing a smile on his face, he walked over to Rose. She looked up suddenly and noticing his smile of success, she smiled too. "Well, now I know why you needed my memories earlier. How did you change my memories around to convince the Valeyard that I wasn't able to help him?"

Placing his hands in his pockets and shrugging his shoulders, he casually replied, "Oh, just a little trick I learned from a Tibetan monk." At her bemused expression, he chuckled and stated, "All right, that wasn't the trick I learned from him. It was just one of the many things we Time Lords know how to do." He then got a look in his eye that reminded her so much of her Tenth Doctor. It was the look of a Time Lord who had just thought up an interesting scheme. As it usually meant trouble, of a fun but dangerous sort, she prepared herself to hear his wild idea. He sat down on the bed beside her, a close but comfortable distance away, turned to her and asked nonchalantly, "I don't suppose you'd like to see the trick I learned from the monk, would you?"

Her curiosity piqued, she replied, "Yeah, sure."

He turned fully towards her and began in a slow, soothing voice, "Look into my eyes." Before she knew what was happening, she was riveted by his eyes, the color of a deep and infinite ocean. She heard his voice, but it was like a gentle background sound which made her feel comforted and safe. Every muscle of her body began to feel very relaxed. She had no idea of time or place, only of his voice. She trusted that voice and knew it would never lead her astray. The voice then began to sound like words she could understand, though the importance of them wasn't understood while in her current mindset. This didn't matter to her at the moment. She trusted the voice. Before she knew it, she felt herself swaying and then gently being held. She felt a soft mattress and a soft pillow as she drifted off to sleep.

He had done it. The commands he issued to her while she was in a trance were embedded in her subconscious. When she would awake, she would come to the decision that she could do nothing to help the Gallifrey of this universe and that it would be best to leave. She would think she had come to this decision on her own. She wouldn't remember being hypnotized or the conversation they had about the trick the Tibetan monk had taught him. In point of fact, it wasn't exactly the trick the old monk had shown him. That trick had involved hypnotizing a human into not breathing deeply and slowing the heart rate to where they were just barely breathing. He remembered having to use that trick on Sarah Jane while they were dealing with the Zygons. The only reason this same type of deep hypnosis worked so well on Rose was because she trusted him on a gut level, just as Sarah Jane had.

He still wasn't sure how Rose had come to trust him so completely in so short a time. As he watched her sleep, he brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face and whispered, "Sleep well, dear Rose." He gently kissed her forehead, turned and slowly walked back to the console room to program the coordinates to Mycenae, where he knew the Sixth and Seventh Doctors would be waiting to take Rose away. It was one of the most difficult things he had to do.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

While traveling in the time vortex, the Tardis began shaking violently, as the cloister bell began to toll. "What is it, Old Girl," the Sixth Doctor asked out loud, fear and confusion beginning to take hold, as he began quickly checking the systems and the coordinates. Before he heard the Seventh Doctor's voice in his mind, his feelings of fear and confusion intensified, as if he knew that whatever his future self was going to say would be too terrible to contemplate. The Seventh Doctor stated in just as fearful and confused a voice as the Sixth Doctor felt, "Doctor, something is preventing us from getting out of the vortex and arriving at Gallifrey. I can't make heads or tails out of it. It's almost as if…dear Rassilon!"

"What is it, Doctor?" The Sixth Doctor then saw the new readings that appeared on his screen and, for a full ten seconds, couldn't believe what he was seeing. This couldn't be happening. As if from a great distance away, he heard his future self commanding him to reverse course and head back to Mycenae immediately. As if on auto pilot, the Sixth Doctor did as instructed. His mind was in a total whirlwind. As the Tardis began going back through the time vortex toward Mycenae, the Doctor began to sit down on the chair by the console, but missed it by a few inches and sat down hard on the floor. The ache from hitting the floor hard didn't even register with him. All he could think about was what he had seen, the brief glimmer that he and the Seventh Doctor had witnessed from the time vortex as they had come upon Gallifrey's coordinates. They couldn't escape the time vortex and materialize on Gallifrey because the whole planet was engulfed in a whirlwind of death and fiery destruction with what had appeared to be thousands of war ships in the vicinity. The Sixth Doctor had seen those ships before, from the memories of Rose Tyler. They were Dalek ships. Everyone on Gallifrey, from the Valeyard to the High Council, to the Fourth incarnation of the Valeyard had been destroyed. He and the Seventh Doctor couldn't sense any Time Lord in this universe at all. This paled in comparison to the most immediate thought that kept running through his mind, 'Rose is dead.'

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

Rose was a bit surprised that her Doctor hadn't contacted her telepathically to let her know what was going on. He must have his reasons, she thought rationally to herself. He and the Seventh Doctor will be waiting for me on Mycenae. She had just woken up a few minutes ago and had remembered the Valeyard leaving the Tardis, but couldn't quite pinpoint exactly what had happened after that. I must have been exhausted after all that's happened so far, she thought as she made her way back to the console room. Upon reaching the entrance to the console room, she found him hunched over the console, staring down at it, deep in thought. Then he noticed she was standing in the doorway. For a brief moment, she thought she saw sadness in his eyes. It then vanished, to be replaced by eyes alight with warmth and something she couldn't define as he gazed at her. He stood fully and, as he slowly walked towards her, hands in his pockets, he stated, "We should be arriving at Mycenae within a few minutes, if that's where you wish to go right now?"

"Well, he'll be waiting there for me and wondering where I've gone to," she replied as she slowly walked toward him and momentarily looked away from his gaze, trying to figure out why she suddenly felt hesitant about saying goodbye to him.

Sensing her hesitation, he walked closer to her until he was in front of her. He lightly cupped her cheek. She slightly leaned into his touch and gazed into his eyes. He saw the hesitation and conflicting feelings in her eyes. Knowing that she felt she needed a good reason to stay, for a short time, with him and not have it feel like she was abandoning her Doctor, he stated with a knowing grin, "You know, we could always take a journey somewhere, in your Doctor's universe of course, and still arrive at Mycenae in plenty of time to spare. It would be as if you hadn't been missing long at all." He then said, in that richly deep voice of his that Rose swore she'd never get tired of hearing, "He need not know, Rose."

"I'd have to tell him about where we traveled to, Doctor," she replied quickly.

Before she could continue, he placed a finger on her lips and said softly, "That's not what I was referring to." His finger lingered on her lips a few seconds more than necessary and she realized he was gazing at her lips. Everything finally clicked in her mind. He wants to kiss me, she thought in surprise. He then removed his finger and leaned his head towards hers slowly, to give her time to back away if she wished. She found herself standing in place, her mind in shock over her revelation and the fact that he was about to kiss her. As his lips touched hers, she found she couldn't help but kiss him back. As he deepened the kiss and wrapped his arms around her, she came to another surprising revelation. She found herself wanting more.

Rose lost all sense of time and place as the Doctor continued kissing her deeply. She couldn't find the words to describe what she was feeling. It was difficult to have any coherent thoughts at all, save one. At this moment, she wanted him. Nothing else mattered. He as well, was thinking along the same lines. He had no idea how much he would enjoy kissing Rose. He was initially planning to kiss her chastely, but that plan got literally thrown out the window as she had, to his great surprise, started to kiss him back. Wrapping his arms around her, in a protective gesture, felt like the most natural thing for him to do. As they continued to kiss deeply, he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he wanted her. Nothing else mattered. He briefly broke the kiss with her, and went to the console to set the Tardis to drift in the vortex. There was no way they were going back to Mycenae now.

He quickly walked back to her, took her hands in his, raised them up to his lips and kissed them chivalrously. She was about to speak when he gently placed a finger on her lips and stated softly, "No words right now. No rationalizations. We're adrift in the time vortex. We have all the time we desire. We can do anything we desire." With that said, he took her hand and led her out of the console room and down the hall toward his room.

As he walked inside, he took off his long brown coat and scarf. Rose, while standing in the doorway, looked longingly at him. He was now in only his white dress shirt, which reminded Rose of one of those Renaissance style shirts, brown pants and boots. He turned around and smiled softly at her, his eyes filled with warmth, love, and desire. To her surprise, she felt no nervousness at all around him as she smiled and walked into his room. She could no longer deny it in her mind. She was in love with him and being here with him felt like the most natural place to be. To an outsider, it would be seen as cheating on the Sixth Doctor. In her mind, she didn't see it that way. This man standing before her was the Doctor, even though he was an earlier incarnation of the Sixth Doctor and from an alternate universe.

Standing in front of him, she placed both of her hands flat against his chest, relishing the cadence of his double hearts beat. He placed his hands over hers, leaned his head towards hers and kissed her slowly and tenderly. He then guided her over to his bed.

Clothes were shed. Hands explored. Kisses were placed. Moans of desire, raised and met, were heard. Nothing was hastily done as both were deliberately solicitous in their movements. As their bodies and souls became one, joined together in that most ancient of dances, his mind touched hers. She welcomed his presence in her mind, as the waves of passion overtook and crashed over them.

If his mind hadn't have been in hers at that exact moment, she would have heard another voice in her mind, coming from a vast distance away, say, "We're coming for you, Rose. I love you."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

As the Seventh Doctor's Tardis was traveling through the time vortex, with the Sixth Doctor's Tardis not far behind, the Seventh Doctor noticed something odd appear on the screen. Another Tardis was stationary in the time vortex. As the Seventh and Sixth Doctor's Tardis's came within range of it, he did a quick scan. Sure enough, it was an old Type 40 model. Could it be the Fourth incarnation of the Valeyard in that Tardis, along with Rose, he wondered. Working the controls, he stopped his own Tardis in the Vortex a safe distance from the Tardis in question. He quickly established a telepathic link with his former self, instructing him to stop his Tardis alongside his own and informing him of what his scan had indicated. The extreme hope and relief could be heard in his former self's voice as he replied, "It has to be them. Rose has to be inside that Tardis. They mustn't have made it to Gallifrey. The Fourth incarnation of the Valeyard mustn't have been able to go through with the Valeyard's plan."

"Now don't jump to conclusions. We don't have all the facts yet. I'll send a message to whichever one of us or whichever one of the Valeyard is in that Tardis," the Seventh Doctor stated reasonably. He opened a channel, also keeping the receiver open so the Sixth Doctor could hear the following conversation, and stated, "This is the Seventh Doctor calling whoever is over there. Please inform me of who you are and if you have Rose with you." As the minutes ticked by, the Seventh Doctor began to get an uneasy feeling.

"I'm not hearing any response. Did you receive anything yet?", the Sixth Doctor asked, worry evident in his voice.

"No, there's still no response. Move your Tardis right next to mine and come aboard. We'll then dock my Tardis right next to whosever Tardis that is over there and see if we can gain access to it," the Seventh Doctor replied. "I normally wouldn't just barge on in where I've not been invited, but we must take matters into our own hands at this point."

The Sixth Doctor came over to his future self's Tardis and they made their way right to the other Tardis, lining up the doors to both Tardis's perfectly. The Seventh Doctor found that his Tardis key didn't work, nor did the Sixth Doctor's key. The Sixth Doctor searched around the top of the Tardis and found a key hidden in a secret compartment behind the 'p' in the word 'police'. Smiling in triumph, he put the key in the lock and opened the door. The console room was dark, with emergency lighting flickering, and there was an odor of burned wires and circuits. They both were unprepared for the sight that greeted them on the floor of the console room, that of the Valeyard unconscious.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

"What in the name of Rassilon?!", the Sixth Doctor exclaimed as he stared in disbelief at the Valeyard on the floor of what looked to be the Valeyard's just barely functioning Tardis.

"Don't you mean 'Omega', Doctor?", the Valeyard said groggily as he moved to a sitting position on the floor while holding his head in pain.

The Sixth Doctor knelt by the Valeyard to see how badly he was hurt while the Seventh Doctor stood his ground and stated impatiently, "Never mind that now. By the look of things, you only barely survived your own universe's Time War. From what I and my former self saw of things, nobody else could have survived, not even your Fourth incarnation and Rose".

This last part sounded almost like a question from the Seventh Doctor. The Valeyard pushed away the Sixth Doctor in annoyance, who was trying to ascertain if the Valeyard's head was bleeding. The Sixth Doctor stood up and angrily stated loudly, "Well, I was only trying to help, though I don't know why I even bothered, seeing as how you were the one who ultimately got your former self and Rose killed!"

The Valeyard blinked twice and looked up at the Sixth and Seventh Doctors in confusion. "What in the hell are you blathering on about? My former self and Rose were nowhere near Gallifrey when the Daleks arrived. It's been two days since I've last seen them."

It was the Sixth and Seventh Doctors turns to blink in surprise. The Seventh Doctor sighed in relief as the Sixth Doctor leaned against the console, filled with such immense joy and relief that a few tears began to form in his eyes. He hastily turned away from the Valeyard and wiped his tears away, but not before the Valeyard noticed.

Standing up slowly, the Valeyard glanced from the Sixth Doctor's turned form to the Seventh Doctor. He looked the Seventh Doctor square in the eye, and asked, with some of his former smugness returning, "You haven't told your former self what happens to her, have you?"

The Seventh Doctor stared down the Valeyard in warning, as the Sixth Doctor looked from the Valeyard to the Seventh Doctor in confusion. "Told me what, Doctor?"

The Valeyard grinned in triumph as he stated boldly, "I wouldn't count on your precious companion returning to you anytime soon, Doctor. Let's just say, she's been 'enlightened' by my Fourth incarnation.

The Seventh Doctor looked down, holding his head in his hand, as if he was reliving a very hurtful memory. The Sixth Doctor was surprised by the Seventh Doctor's reaction and looked angrily at the Valeyard, as a feeling of jealousy began to take up residence in his mind. He stated in a deadly calm voice, "Tell me, what you mean by the term 'enlightened'.

The Valeyard gave a look of mock apology and replied, "No, Doctor. There are some things that one has to find out on their own and see to believe with their own eyes." Looking thoughtfully in the distance, as if recalling an old memory, the Valeyard said out loud to himself, "Yes, they would be there at those coordinates in that universe." He went to the console, found an old data pad and typed in the coordinates. He then gave the data pad to the Sixth Doctor and stated, "Here, these are the coordinates and time where you will find them in your universe." The Valeyard then walked away from him toward the door leading to the rest of his ship.

As the Sixth Doctor read the coordinates, still surprised that the Valeyard would give those to him, the Seventh Doctor asked, "Why did you do that for us?"

The Valeyard stopped, gave a world weary sigh, and turned to face them, all of his smugness vanishing in place of the look of someone who had seen and been through too much in too short a time. "I've just barely escaped the Daleks. There was nothing I could do to save Gallifrey. The Daleks will end up taking over everything if I can't find a way of stopping them. I thought Rose was the answer, the 'silver bullet' to defeating the Daleks. My former self, through images he telepathically projected to me, showed me that Rose never had the capability to defeat them and that she never would. The High Council had just banished me from Gallifrey and I had just started to dematerialize my Tardis when the Daleks appeared in full force."

"Dear Rassilon," both Doctors stated in sadness at all the Valeyard had told them. They both knew they could never tell the Valeyard the truth about Rose's abilities, thus they kept that information carefully hidden in their minds from the Valeyard.

The Seventh Doctor walked closer to the Valeyard and stated confidently, "I have a method of defeating the Daleks in your universe. I know where the Hand of Omega is." At the Valeyard's look of surprise and the Sixth Doctor's look of awe, the Seventh Doctor continued, "I will help you, Valeyard, if you will agree to the following terms: Never travel in my universe again and, if you happen to run across any of my former or future selves, do not attempt to contact us. Do we have a deal?"

At the Seventh Doctor's proffered hand, the Valeyard, seeing no other option, reluctantly shook his hand and replied, "Yes, we have a deal."

The Seventh Doctor then looked to the Sixth Doctor and stated seriously, "I believe you have a prior engagement, Doctor. I suggest you don't waste any time in getting to those coordinates." The Sixth Doctor looked like he was about to press his future self into telling him what he knew, but decided against it. He would just have to wait and see what his future held and he hoped, more than anything, that Rose would still be a part of it.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Changing The Rules  
**_

**Here's a short chapter to tide you all over until I have the time to write and post more of the story. I hope to have more time this coming week. Enjoy :)  
**

The Fourth Doctor, while lying beside Rose, watched her as she slept. He was still in amazement at the fact that they had actually made love. It had felt so natural, so right, that he didn't stop to think of the consequences. Although he knew that she was in love with him at the moment, he also knew that she was still in love with her Doctor. He knew that this love between them couldn't last. She would have to go back to the Sixth Doctor, while he would have to move on. The question was, would he be able to break her heart by leaving her and returning her to her Doctor? He knew the answer to that as soon as he thought the question.

The answer was yes. For he knew deep down that, no matter how much he loved Rose, he was not and never would be in love with her. She could never replace his one and only true love, Sarah Jane Smith. In his personal timeline, it had been only a week since he had dropped Sarah Jane back off on Earth, before being summoned to Gallifrey. It hadn't taken long to solve that trouble with the Master, but as soon as he had left Gallifrey, he had been summoned by his Twelfth incarnation, the Valeyard. He despised the Valeyard for all he stood for and dreaded the thought of what may happen in his own future timeline that would inevitably lead him to become the Valeyard.

His thoughts were interrupted by Rose beginning to awaken. He needed more time to think, so he pretended that he was still asleep. He felt her get up out of bed and heard the bathroom door close. As soon as he heard the shower running, he opened his eyes and lay with his hands behind his head, deep in thought. If he was truthful with himself, he knew that being just physically amazing together wouldn't be enough for him. He craved the mental and emotional parts of the relationship more than the physical. With Sarah Jane, he had the mental and emotional connections that he craved. He wished now that he had taken things one step further to see what the physical part of the relationship would have been like with her. He had held himself back in fear of losing her, his best friend. It was only when he had said goodbye to her that he had let himself realize that he was in love with her. By then it had been too late. He had vowed that he would return for her. He wasn't about to break that vow, no matter that Rose had come into the picture.

Feeling certain about his course of action, he got up from his bed and headed to the console room. He typed in a set of coordinates, saved it into a special file, and marked it in such a way that only his twelfth incarnation would know to read it, remember it, and pass it along to Rose's Doctor. With that taken care of, he pressed a few buttons to activate the time rotor with those same coordinates. In a short time, they would be on the planet called Pauate and so would the Sixth Doctor.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Changing The Rules  
**_

**For those of you waiting to read an 'in-depth' love scene between the Sixth Doctor and Rose, this is the chapter you've been waiting for. This is the first 'in-depth' love scene I've ever written. Hope you all enjoy :)  
**

Something has changed, Rose thinks to herself as she watches the Fourth Doctor fiddle around with some of the controls on the console. Although he looked happy to see her as she had entered the console room, she didn't see the look in his eyes that she remembered so vividly from last night. His eyes still hold the warmth and friendship for her, but it feels as if he's hiding something from her. She doesn't say anything about it just yet, as he's just mentioned they'll be at their next destination momentarily. "So where is it that we're going to?", Rose asks in as cheerful a mood as she can muster at the moment.

The Doctor grins as he replies, "the Freedom Festival of Pauate. You'll love it, Rose. They're remarkable with pyrotechnics and have the best and longest fireworks show this side of the galaxy."

At the mention of Pauate, Rose is reminded of the fact that the Sixth Doctor was about to take her there, before everything had happened with the Valeyard.

At Rose's downcast look, the Doctor's grin fades as he walks around to the side of the console she's standing at. He gently lifts her chin so he can look into her eyes. He is instantly reassured that his course of action is the right one. He can tell that she misses her Doctor. He nods his head in understanding as she conveys to him, with her eyes, what is too emotionally difficult to put into words. He embraces her in a hug and she lets out a small sob as the tears run down her face. "It's alright Rose. I understand. You miss your Doctor and you want to return to him." As he feels her nod her head in agreement, he continues, "You know how I feel about you, but it was never meant to last. I have my own journey to take and so have you. I want you to know that I will cherish our experience together for the rest of my lives. I have one more surprise for you, Rose."

As she lifts her head from his shoulder to look at him questioningly, he gently wipes a few tears from her cheek as he says, "I chose Pauate for another important reason. Your Doctor will be waiting there for us."

Rose's smile is bittersweet as she asks in a shaky voice, "But you won't have anyone to travel with. You'll be alone."

He looks into the distance, a small, knowing smile on his face, as he states, "A week ago, there was someone I had to leave on Earth, a very special person. I won't be lonely for long." His gaze returns to Rose as he says, "Thank you for everything you've given me, Rose Tyler. I'll never forget you." They embrace again and he gives her one last lingering farewell kiss. She savors this bittersweet moment, knowing it can't and won't happen again.

The Tardis dematerializes on Pauate. The Doctor ends the kiss, takes Rose's hands in his, and kisses them. He walks back to the console, checks the monitor, and states, "Yes, his Tardis is nearby. Your Doctor will be waiting for us on the walkway bridge over the lake. Let's go." He takes her hand in his and leads her to what he hopes won't be an ugly confrontation.

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

The Sixth Doctor leans on the railing, looking at the reflection on the lake from the massive fireworks lighting the night sky. This was where he was going to bring Rose, before the Valeyard, once again, had messed things up. At least he had given me these exact coordinates, the Doctor thought to himself. That's one small consolation. I wonder if the Fourth incarnation of the Valeyard will have the guts to come along with Rose to meet me or if he'll be a coward and have her face me on her own? Did Rose and he really make love, as the Valeyard had implied, or was that just his idea of a cruel joke? If they really did make love, how could Rose have done that to me? A small voice in the back of his mind decided to speak up and say, 'She was never really yours to begin with, was she? No promises had been made between you two.' Oh, I know you're right, he thinks back to himself in grudging agreement.

He shakes his head to clear his thoughts as he looks up at the magnificent fireworks in the sky, breathing in the fresh, cool, night air. This walkway bridge he's on is deserted now. The Pauateans are off to the streets to party or are staring up at the sky from their seats at the various outdoor restaurants and balconies lining the lake shore.

An instant later, he senses the presence of the other Time Lord a few seconds before he catches some movement from his peripheral vision. He looks over and sees Rose, standing a bit in front of and off the side of the Fourth Doctor, a look of relief and happiness in her eyes. He thinks he catches a glimpse of weariness there but his attention turns to the Fourth Doctor walking confidently up to him. He sees Rose's brief look of surprise at this before she, too, starts to catch up to the Fourth Doctor's long strides.

The Fourth Doctor's mental barriers are fully up, as expected, so he can't detect anything except confidence and friendship from him. Rose tries to walk confidently, but she doesn't quite pull it off. She's trying to hide something, he realizes. If he wanted to, he could look inside her mind, but he wouldn't feel right about invading her privacy like that. She also is looking everywhere else except right at him. Well, the fireworks can be a bit distracting, he chuckles to himself. Putting a confident smile on his face, and making sure his mental barriers have been and are fully up, he strides confidently to meet the Fourth Doctor and Rose on their side of the bridge.

As they all approach each other, Rose walks forward quickly and embraces the Sixth Doctor. "I've missed you so much," she says with a shaky voice as tears start to fall down her face.

He buries his face in her hair, breathing in her scent. He is so filled with joy and relief upon having her in his arms again that he momentarily forgets about the Fourth Doctor. Before releasing Rose from their embrace, he whispers in her ear, "I love you". He is relieved beyond words as she instantly whispers back to him, "I love you, too." He releases her, still holding both her hands in his own, as he gazes lovingly into her eyes. As he sees the love for him in her eyes, he releases a breath he didn't even realize he was holding.

He turns to look back at the Fourth Doctor and is stunned to find him walking away, already to the edge of the bridge. At his shocked look, Rose looks in the same direction and is equally stunned. The Doctor thinks that she might go running after him, but when she doesn't, he looks at her and asks, "Aren't you going to say goodbye to him?"

As she shakes her head no, she replies, as she watches the Fourth Doctor's tall figure disappear in the distance, "We've already said our goodbyes." The Doctor notes the slight bittersweet gaze in her eyes. Choosing not to remark on that, he takes her hand in his own and asks, "What do you want to do now?"

She gazes back at him, smiles lovingly and says, with no hint of shyness, "My Doctor, I want you to make love to me."

**&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&**

The multitude of brilliant fireworks in the sky overhead could not even come close to the intensity that Rose and the Doctor felt in getting back to the Tardis as soon as possible. The quick walk back to his Tardis felt like the longest five minutes to the Doctor. It took all of his concentration to put the key into the lock correctly, to open the door for Rose and close it, and to walk over to the console to set the coordinates to have them drift in the vortex. Once those chores were done, he turned around to find Rose had left the console room. He walked into the hall, noticing her shoes on the floor. He walked further down the hall and noticed her shirt was on the floor right outside of his opened bedroom. He walked into the room and was met with the sight of Rose making herself very comfortable on his bed. He stepped into the room and admired the view of her completely naked. He, in turn, made himself more comfortable by disrobing in front of her.

She lay back on her side, with her head propped on her arm, as she watched the Doctor disrobe. When he just had on his boxers, he didn't stop there. He took them off and all she could do was gaze at how striking he was in the nude. She met his gaze as he got on the bed. She lay on her back as he came up to her and began kissing her deeply. Rose couldn't help but compare the kissing styles of her Doctor and the Fourth Doctor. The Fourth Doctor's kisses had been filled with warmth, love, and a sense of comfortable familiarity, as if she was kissing a dear, close, personal friend. Her Doctor's kisses, on the other hand, were electric and filled with such intense fire and passion, mixed with a sense of deep, binding love.

He kissed all along her ears, all over her neck and collarbone while he gently squeezed her supple breasts and nipples. He began kissing all over her breasts while using two of his fingers to flick and slightly pinch each nipple in turn. Rose was in ecstasy as he did this and even more so as he began sucking each nipple very solicitously. While engaged in this endeavor, his finger sought out her inner folds and began teasing her moist clit. His finger entered her and she moaned in delight. After he finished his ministrations on her taut nipples, his tongue sought out her clit, sucking on and slightly entering her. She cried out his name as she came multiple times.

As he finished, she kissed his lips, wanting to capture her taste on his lips. She then had him lean back on the bed while she teased his cock to hardness by using her teeth to gently touch his tip and then taking as much of him as she could into her mouth. He moaned out her name while she took him to the same heights of ecstasy he had just taken her.

As she finished, he had her lay on the bed while he lay on top of her, his cock seeking her entrance. She wrapped her legs around his thighs, opening herself up fully to help guide his entrance into her. As he entered her, he was overwhelmed by the intoxicating heat of her. They quickly found their own rhythmic movement as he pushed deeper into her. She cried out his name and he knew she was on the verge.

Knowing he wasn't far behind, he began to mentally bind himself to her, by seeking entrance into her mind and to allow her mind entrance into his. As soon as he entered her mind, he felt her weariness at what he was about to discover. Knowing she couldn't keep any secrets from him and not wanting to anymore, she allowed him access to everything that had happened during the time she was with the Fourth Doctor. His suspicions were confirmed as he saw that Doctor making love to her. Knowing all that had happened that had led up to that moment and knowing the way she had felt about the Fourth Doctor, he couldn't be angry at her. She expected him to be outraged and to stop making love to her. On the contrary, he did the opposite. He gently cupped her face, looked her straight in the eyes, and said, "It's okay. I understand." A few tears of relief rolled down her face and he gently wiped them away. He was barely moving inside her at that point, yet she relished feeling him inside her. He was about to pull himself out of her, thinking the moment might not be right to finish their lovemaking. She stopped him, held him tighter to her, and said, "Please, don't go." He smiled at her, kissed her forehead, and began moving slowly inside her in a circular motion. She matched his movement, and before long, he couldn't hold back. He thrust deeper into her, careful not to thrust too hard. She felt he was holding back and she moaned, "Doctor, don't hold back."

He kissed her deeply, their tongues matching the intensity of their movements. After kissing her soundly, he increased the tempo of his rhythm, thrusting harder. Finally, they reached the edge, their mental binding enabling each of them to feel what the other was feeling. They both let go, the waves of passion washing over them both as they cried out each others names.

Feeling fully sated and more content than he had felt in such a long time, he slowly eased out of her and gathered her in his arms to lay beside him. Feeling fully sated and more content than she had ever felt, Rose snuggled closer to him and, within moments, fell fast asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Changing The Rules  
**_

**Sorry for the delay in posting this chapter. I should be able to post the next chapter within the week. Enjoy :)**

Rose slowly awoke to the smell of bacon and eggs being cooked. She smiled, thinking how sweet it was that the Doctor was cooking her breakfast. She decided to grab a quick shower before he returned to his room, or 'their' room, she thought happily to herself. Once done with her shower and going back to her room to put on some clean clothes, she made her way to the kitchen. She opened the door, expecting the Doctor to be in there. He wasn't, but the food had been laid out on the table. Thinking that perhaps he had to go to the console room for some reason, she walked in that direction. She was about to enter the console room, but the sight from the door's window halted her in her tracks. For there, speaking with her Doctor, was none other than the Fourth Doctor. They both looked to be in an extremely serious conversation. Is this the former version of my Doctor, or is it the Fourth Doctor from that other universe that I was with, she asked herself. It can't be him, because he said he was headed back to Earth to unite with his former companion. This has to be the former version of my Doctor. Feeling curious as to how this version of the Fourth Doctor was different from the version she had known and not wishing to intrude, she opened the door a crack to listen to what was being said.

"Yes, it is extremely odd. The Seventh Doctor had briefly conversed with me, telepathically, right after he and the Valeyard had gone back to the Valeyard's universe to seek out and destroy the Daleks. He had mentioned that he knew where The Hand of Omega was and that he could once again use its power to destroy the Daleks that got away. After he had briefly told me of the demise of the Valeyard's Gallifrey, I offered my services. I didn't think it was wise that he go off with the Valeyard on his own, no matter that he thought he had scared the Valeyard senseless with that poppycock about our future self being 'Omega'. I insisted that the Valeyard, though initially falling for it, would, in time, see right through his ruse. He refused to see reason. He honestly believes he can control the Valeyard on his own and believes that the Valeyard will hold to his promise of not arriving in our universe again or contacting any of our selves," the Fourth Doctor stated.

The Sixth Doctor nodded his head at his former self's assessment of the situation and replied, while gazing into the distance with a half smile to help lighten the mood, "And I always thought I would be the most pompous and arrogant of all my incarnations." Looking back at the Fourth Doctor, his eyes and expression returning to a look of concern, stated, "Let me guess, you haven't heard anything more from our future self, have you? You believe the Valeyard has interfered yet again". This last part was more of a statement than a question, yet the Fourth Doctor nodded in agreement. The Sixth Doctor sighed in concern mixed with annoyance and leaned his hands flat against the console, staring briefly at the monitor. "I was planning to go on a lengthy and well deserved holiday with Rose, but it appears it will have to wait yet again."

It was at that point that Rose decided to enter the console room, and say, "It's alright, Doctor. I understand."

The Fourth Doctor gave a small chuckle and smiled at Rose, who reminded him a little of a former human companion of his. Rose looked over at the Fourth Doctor, and was surprised at how he looked and dressed exactly the same as the Fourth Doctor she had known from that alternate universe. She shouldn't have been that surprised, but she was and couldn't keep the surprise from her expression. The Fourth Doctor was a bit taken aback by how she looked at him as if she knew a lot about him.

The Sixth Doctor lightly cleared his throat, which made Rose turn back to him, a slight blush on her face. He smiled at her, though it didn't reach his eyes, and stated, "Rose, I'd like you to meet my former incarnation, from my universe to be exact." She nodded in greeting at the Fourth Doctor, still looking a bit surprised and feeling a weird sense of déjà vu. She looked quickly back at her Doctor and caught a glimpse of something in his eyes she had suspected would have been there last night before their telepathic connection, but hadn't been until now. He looked slightly jealous and annoyed. Before she could ask about it, his expression changed and he stated in a slightly condescending voice, "I knew you were listening at the door, Rose. There was really no need. You could have made your presence known. I wouldn't have been annoyed if you had done that."

His emphasis on that last word made her realize that his source of annoyance wasn't just her reaction to the Fourth Doctor. It was that she had been eavesdropping on him and his former self. She felt guilty for how she acted, but also started to feel annoyed herself. "I didn't mean to annoy you, Doctor. I could tell from both of your expressions that you were discussing something quite serious and I didn't want to interrupt at the time. I see I was wrong to do so. I'll just leave and let you both get back to discussing something you obviously don't want me to be involved in."

She made to turn around and leave, but to her surprise, the Fourth Doctor gently touched her shoulder and said in a deep voice quite similar to one she had gotten to know quite intimately, "There's no need to walk away, Miss Tyler. I had just arrived moments ago, and my future self had wanted to let you sleep before imparting my disturbing news of the Seventh Doctor and the Valeyard to you. Please, won't you sit down?" He indicated the chair that was by the console.

She looked over at the Sixth Doctor, who was looking even more annoyed and jealous, if that were possible. She gave a look at him that seemed to say, 'What the hell is your problem now?'. He immediately looked contrite and reigned in his emotions. When he looked back towards her, his eyes were filled with regret and love for her, which seemed to ask for her forgiveness. She smiled slightly in relief and thought back to him, 'Apology accepted'.

She knew he was feeling like this because of the presence of the Fourth Doctor, even though it wasn't his former self that she had been involved with. Still, she bet he wasn't counting on seeing his former self so soon after he had found out everything that had happened with her and the Fourth Doctor from that alternate universe. It was then that she realized it seemed much easier to read his emotions, as if she had become considerably more empathic towards him. This must be because of the mental connection he had established last night when we were making love, she thought in amazement as her cheeks blushed even more at the erotic memories they had made. She looked back at her Doctor and noticed a sparkle in his eyes, as if he had just heard and seen everything she was thinking about. She almost began grinning like a fool in love, but then remembered the Fourth Doctor was still present. Schooling her features, she turned back to the Fourth Doctor, who had been giving a brief summary of everything he had just said to her Doctor, in case she hadn't been able to hear everything at the door. She had heard every word earlier, but had found that while he had begun speaking, she had been focused on her Doctor. She then focused her attention back to the present at just the right time, for the Fourth Doctor now started from where he had left off earlier with his future self.

"The Seventh Doctor had given me coordinates of where he and the Valeyard would first be heading in the Valeyard's universe. He said that these coordinates were the location of The Hand of Omega." The Fourth Doctor walked up to the console and punched in some coordinates on the monitor.

The Sixth Doctor looked at the coordinates, a shocked look on his face, "That's the location of it in that universe? That doesn't make sense. How in the name of Rassilon did it get there?" By this time, Rose had come to stand next to the Sixth Doctor and gazed at the monitor. She saw a line of numbers and complex mathematical symbols. Underneath it, there was the name of a place she would never forget. She felt a shiver run down her spine. She looked up to see both her Doctor and the Fourth Doctor staring at her in extreme concern. She was about to ask why the Hand of Omega would be at that place. It was then that she realized she felt warmer than usual and that the lighting of the console room had become more golden in color. She began to feel extremely light headed and her vision began to blur.

She heard her Doctor call her name in alarm and felt him catch her before she hit the floor. The Fourth Doctor watched in concern as the Sixth Doctor caught Rose in his arms and carried her to the med bay. He looked back at the name on the monitor, wondering why a location on Earth would have produced such a shocked reaction out of the Sixth Doctor. He wondered why Miss Tyler's eyes suddenly turned a golden hue upon seeing that name, or if her reaction had just happened to coincide while she had been looking at the monitor.

Nevertheless, he gazed at the name while sifting through all of his memories to find out if he had heard the name before. It seemed as if he should know it, but from where? After another few moments, he turned away and headed toward the med bay to see how Miss Tyler was doing, the name forever etched in his mind, Bad Wolf Bay.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Changing The Rules**_

**To those of you who thought you knew where this story was heading, this chapter takes it in a whole new turn. Enjoy :)**

The Seventh Doctor looked around at the desolate surroundings he found himself in along with the Valeyard. They had taken the Doctor's Tardis to the coordinates where the Hand of Omega, in the Valeyard's universe, was located. Though he wouldn't admit this to the Valeyard, he thought these coordinates had been slightly off. He thought he had hidden the Hand of Omega in a different location on Earth. Of course, he had to be mistaken. No one knew that he had hidden the Hand. He was just relieved that he had been able to pick up on the Hand's energy source. He was grateful that the Valeyard had not questioned him about how he knew the location of it in a universe that wasn't his own. He wasn't willing to give away that secret to the Valeyard, nor to his past selves. He had thought it prudent, before beginning this mission with the Valeyard, to telepathically contact his Fourth self, as a sort of precaution, on the chance that the Valeyard did not keep his word. He wasn't sure what surprises he would find at Bad Wolf Bay. Therefore, he wanted his Fourth self to be kept in the loop, so to speak.

To this end, he had kept a slight telepathic connection to his former self, the Fourth Doctor, from the moment the Valeyard had entered the Doctor's Tardis. While doing this, it was nearly impossible to ascertain any of the Valeyard's thoughts. Of course, the Valeyard could have been keeping stronger mental shielding in place. He strongly doubted that the Valeyard could hide anything from him. Although the Valeyard was a future version of himself from another universe, the Valeyard lacked the one thing the Doctor had, the one thing that separated the Seventh Doctor from all of his former incarnations. It was something that must never be put into words, either spoken of or thought of, around any of his past selves. He had hinted at it when he had whispered it to the Valeyard during that day he had met the Valeyard for the first time while in the Sixth Doctor's Tardis. That one name he had whispered, Omega, could not even begin to describe what it was that was within him. For that was why he felt it safe to whisper that name to the Valeyard. He knew instantly that the fear of that name would help keep the Valeyard in line. It was what was keeping the Valeyard under control at present. So far, the Valeyard kept a safe distance from the Doctor and was still extremely weary of him. Just as it should be, the Doctor thought to himself, pleased with the result.

As the Doctor scanned his surroundings with his sonic screwdriver, the Valeyard had wandered over to sit on a large boulder on the beach. "Cheerful place you've brought us to. Now would you mind telling me where exactly you would like to start digging for this Hand of Omega," the Valeyard asked in a tone that suggested he thought this location an absurd place for something so valuable to be buried at.

The Doctor looked up from his readings on the sonic screwdriver to give the Valeyard an amused look. "First off, I will not be the one to do the digging." At the Valeyard's annoyed look, the Doctor next stated, "The Hand of Omega is not buried beneath the sand. From my readings, I detect a power source coming from the cliffs off to the east. If I am correct, the Hand will be contained within the cliffs." At the Valeyard's confused look, the Doctor clarified by stating, "It will be inside a cavern. I suggest we proceed immediately. There are only a few hours of daylight left." As the Doctor began his trek across the sand toward the cliffs, the Valeyard grudgingly proceeded to follow him. He knew that the Doctor was in a constant telepathic connection with one of the Doctor's former selves. He also knew that the Doctor wasn't currently able to read the Valeyard's mind.

As the Doctor was walking ahead of him, he did not see the almost predatory smile that graced the Valeyard's mouth, nor the slightly red hue that illuminated his eyes. In the Valeyard's mind, the following conversation was taking place. 'This Doctor believes himself to be one step ahead of us. Little did he know that when he had entered your mind days before, I had allowed him to see your little plan for the girl. I had to completely disguise myself within your mind, to the point where you did not realize I was even there. He would have recognized me instantly. He does not yet suspect me to be so nearby, though I can tell he is weary of the location of the Hand of Omega. He doesn't know how it came to be here. For he had found it in another sector of this universe and had made certain it was kept somewhere only he would know. He did not realize that he was being watched at the time. He believes himself to be different from his past incarnations. He is sorely mistaken . He has one weakness that he shares with all of the others, his need for companions. This incarnation of the Doctor has been without a companion for such a long time.'

At this point, the Valeyard mentally interjected, 'My Lord, why did you hide the Hand of Omega here? What is the purpose of bringing him here? Do you not agree that it is prudent to annihilate the Daleks for what they did to Gallifrey?'

The voice within the Valeyard's mind replied scathingly, 'Never question my motives again, for I may just decide you are expendable after all! As for the Daleks, I have no use for them. They will be destroyed.'

'I apologize for questioning your motives, my Lord', the Valeyard humbly said. 'How will you destroy them?'

The Valeyard then heard laughter echoing in his mind. 'My dear Valeyard, I will not be the one to destroy the Daleks. I had long ago given a small portion of my power to another. This power was not given to just any of my wolves. Oh no, I made sure that it was given to only the best, The Bad Wolf.'

'Who is this Bad Wolf, my Lord,' the Valeyard excitedly asked.

The voice in the Valeyard's mind laughed with maniacal glee and stated, 'Her human name is Rose Tyler. I believe your Fourth incarnation had the pleasure of getting to know her quite intimately.'

The Valeyard smiled at the distant memory of Rose. Throughout all of his incarnations, he had never met any companion like her. He had known she was special, even back then. While the voice in his head was busy with other musings, the Valeyard snuck to a private place in his mind, one he was somehow able to keep shielded from this voice. He had begun to hear the voice right as he and the Doctor had stepped out of the Tardis onto the beach of Bad Wolf Bay. The voice had demanded that the Valeyard call him Lord and he found he had no choice so far in the matter, as he had no idea of the powerful being he was dealing with. He didn't know how long the voice had been in his mind, observing all of his thoughts and actions. What he did know was that, along with the Doctor being in danger, Rose Tyler was in the greatest danger of them all. He had to find some way to warn the Doctor about this voice. First, he needed to find out just what this voice was called. Exiting his private place in his mind, he asked the voice, 'May I inquire, my Lord, as to what the Doctor has called you in the past?'

The voice stopped its internal musings. It had been so focused on its plans that it hadn't realized the Valeyard had retreated to a mental hiding place. In its deluded and psychotic state, it believed the Valeyard could hide nothing from it. After a few seconds, the voice decided it would do no harm for the Valeyard to know its true identity. Besides, even if the Valeyard informed the Doctor, what could the Doctor do about it. The Doctor had tried to kill it in the past, only to find it was the equivalent to trying to kill an idea. For that was what the voice had become, only a shadow of its former self. It was why the voice had to travel in a host body to preserve energy. The voice stated to the Valeyard, 'The Doctor knew me by the name of Fenric.'

Fenric went back to his internal musings. Rose Tyler was his backup plan. If he could get inside her mind, he could harness the energy he had put into her when she was born. The energy had been dormant within her, until she had absorbed the vortex energy of her Doctor's Tardis. The vortex energy had culminated with his own energy to enable her to defeat the Daleks in her universe. Her Doctor had never been aware that, without that additional energy, the vortex energy would not have been enough to completely annihilate the Daleks. Fenric's energy was what had prevented her from dying. This explained why her Doctor had died when he had taken the vortex energy from her.

Fenric had heard about all of this from his mentor, the Black Guardian. Even though Fenric had old scores to settle with the Doctor, he knew he could not be the one to kill the Doctor. If Fenric killed the Doctor, the Doctor would just regenerate. The only one who could completely annihilate the Doctor from existence was the Black Guardian. Fenric, by reviewing the Valeyard's memories, found it amusing that the Valeyard had told his Tenth incarnation that he had a way to completely kill the Doctor. The Valeyard had been bluffing at the time, trying to make himself look superior to his Tenth incarnation. Of course, the Valeyard's idea of having the Valeyard's Eleventh incarnation kill the Eighth Doctor did sound like something amusing to watch. Still, Fenric had to keep to the Black Guardian's plan. Fenric owed quite a lot to the Black Guardian. If not for the Black Guardian, Fenric would never have known of Rose Tyler's existence, nor of the importance the human girl would have on many of the Doctor's incarnations.

What was it about her that so interested all of the incarnations of the Doctors she came in contact with? It had to be more than her physical attributes. Fenric then skimmed the Valeyard's distant memories of the Valeyard's time as his Fourth incarnation. Fenric saw the memories the Fourth incarnation had of Rose. It wasn't much help, as the Fourth incarnation had chosen another human companion over Rose. No, he would not get those answers from the Valeyard. He needed to see how Rose associated with the Doctor. He needed to learn what the Seventh Doctor was hiding, for he was hiding something quite significant. Could it be something that could damage him? He doubted that whatever it was could even put a dent in the Black Guardian. He needed to bring Rose Tyler here to Bad Wolf Bay and he needed to secretly enter her mind, without her being aware of it, and gather as much information as possible from the Seventh Doctor. He kept all of these plans from the Valeyard's mind.

Deciding it was time to put phase one of his plans into action, he took control of the Valeyard's motor functions. He made the Valeyard stealthily run up behind the Seventh Doctor and knock him out hard on the back of the head. Looking through the Valeyard's eyes, he and the Doctor were close to one of the cavern's entrances. Fenric then made the Valeyard's mind go into unconsciousness. Fenric exited the Valeyard's mind, and appearing as a golden wisp of smoke, hovered over the Seventh Doctor's body. His feather light touch of the Doctor's head was enough to encase the Doctor's body in a golden light. As this occurred, he knew that in another universe, his energy would be once again ignited in Rose's body. It would be but a matter of minutes before that energy would build within her and teleport her right to the Seventh Doctor. All Fenric had to do now was wait.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Changing The Rules**_

**Hope you all enjoy! I'll try to get the next chapter posted this week :)**

As the Fourth Doctor entered the med bay, he found the Sixth Doctor staring at one of the beds in shock and horror. He turned around, looked at the Fourth Doctor, and stated, "Before I knew what was happening, her entire body was encased in golden light and she vanished right in front of my eyes." The Sixth Doctor briefly closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm his racing hearts beats. He was no good to her in his present emotional condition. He had to calm down and think of a plan of action. He would get her back. He didn't know how exactly, but he knew where to start looking. Opening his eyes and looking at his former self, he stated with grim determination, "I'm setting the coordinates for Bad Wolf Bay. That's as good a place as any to begin looking."

The Fourth Doctor nodded his head in agreement and stated, "Lead the way. While you set the coordinates, I will attempt to establish a mental link again with our future self."

The sound of ocean waves and the smell of salt air struck Rose's senses. Slowly waking up, she took in her surroundings. She was indeed on a beach and not just any beach. No, this can't be the same beach, she thought to herself as she began to sit up. How did I get here, she wondered in fear as she looked around for any sign of the Doctor. Off in the distance, she could make out the Tardis. Sighing in relief, she began to stand up. It was then that she noticed someone laying unconscious near her in a dark brown suit and hat. She quickly went to him, feeling for a pulse and heard the sound of a double heart beat. This must be the Seventh Doctor, she thought in relief as she remembered what the Fourth Doctor had told her and the Sixth Doctor. She tried to wake him up, but to no avail. Something or someone had knocked him out cold. She noticed that not far to where the Doctor was laying, there was a human sized indentation in the sand, as if someone had been laying there. She looked up and down the beach, but no one else was around. Where was the Valeyard, she wondered to herself? As she looked around her, she could see the entrance to some type of cave not far away. Could the Valeyard be in there, looking for the Hand of Omega?

They would need to find shelter soon, as the sky now looked even more threatening with storm clouds looming. She felt a chill go down her spine, her head and back feeling cold for a second, which was odd as it wasn't cold out. She looked back toward the Tardis, but she knew she couldn't drag him that great of a distance. The cave was much closer. She hoped the Valeyard wasn't waiting for them in there. She had no weapon on her. She then remembered the Doctor's sonic screwdriver. She turned the Doctor over so he was lying on his back instead of his stomach. She found it in his hand. As she was trying to pry it from his fingers, he suddenly woke up.

Before she could say a word, he had pushed her onto her back, one of his arms on her collarbone to keep her pinned to the ground, and pointing the sonic screwdriver at her face, his steely blue gray eyes clouding with the Oncoming Storm. He had momentarily knocked the wind out of her and she had needed a couple seconds to regain her breath. The air seemed to crackle around her. She hoped he would recognize her, as she couldn't speak at the moment. Within another second, he blinked and really looked into her eyes. "Rose Tyler?", he asked in complete confusion. "What in the name of Rassilon are you doing here? And why does the back of my head hurt slightly, I wonder?" His eyes had reverted back to their original look, a type of soothing blue gray color. At first, she was too entranced by his eyes to form a response. She then realized that his arm was still on her collarbone and noticed how he had positioned himself almost on top of her before he knew who she was. She was amazed by how quickly he had moved and the power she had glimpsed in his eyes. She turned her eyes toward his arm. He followed her gaze and immediately removed his arm and lowered his sonic screwdriver. "Oh. My apologies, Rose. Here, let me help you up." He stood up and extended his hand to her.

As she took his hand and stood up, she felt a feeling of warmth sweep through her body. If she didn't know any better, it was almost as if some type of energy had been transferred to her from him. She looked into his eyes and he looked back at her, warmth and friendship in his eyes. She wondered if he had felt the same thing she did. He let go of her hand and the warmth instantly dissipated from her body. A strong, cold wind began to blow and she felt herself momentarily shiver. Noticing her reaction, the Doctor asked, "Rose, are you alright?"

"Yeah, it just felt cold all of a sudden. I don't know how I got here. One minute I was in my Doctor's Tardis, where my vision began to take on a golden hue. I then felt light headed and passed out. Next thing I know, I woke up here on the beach. I saw you lying there and was trying to wake you up. I wondered where the Valeyard was. I decided it would be best if I armed myself, so I tried to get your sonic screwdriver. That's when you woke up. I have to say, I didn't expect you to move so quickly or to be ready to attack in an instant," she said, her tone not accusatory in the slightest.

If the Doctor didn't know any better, he almost thought he detected a hint of awe in her voice. He allowed himself to really take in her appearance while she had been talking. Dear Rassilon, she's beautiful, he thought to himself. He couldn't help it. He, of course, still had all of the memories of the time he had spent with her during his Sixth incarnation. Memories such as those could never be forgotten, no matter how much time had passed since he had been his former self. Now was not the time to be going down memory lane, he told himself. He then noticed his hat lying on the sand. He picked it up, dusted the sand off of it, looked toward the cavern entrance, and stated, "Let's make our way up to the cavern. That's where the Hand of Omega is located. We can talk on the way. You had said you didn't see the Valeyard anywhere?"

While Rose had been talking, she had noticed his eyes had seemed to show more than friendship for her. Well, he is the future self of my Doctor. He was probably thinking back to when he knew me as his former self. When he spoke again, it held a business like tone to it. Just like my Doctor, able to get back to the business at hand. "No, but I did notice a human sized indentation in the sand near where you had been lying." She looked toward the cavern entrance they were walking towards. "Do you think he's in there waiting to attack you or to try and steal the Hand of Omega?"

"I honestly have no idea. I wasn't able to keep tabs on his thoughts, as I was in constant telepathic contact with my former self. Speaking of which, I need to reestablish the link to let my former selves know you're alright." Sitting down on a nearby boulder, he said, "This shouldn't take too long."

Rose nodded and went to sit a few feet away in the sand facing the ocean. She felt another shiver run down her spine and rubbed her hands over her arms. She wished she had been wearing a jacket. As it was, she only had on a light long sleeve shirt, jeans, and ankle length boots. Before she knew it, she felt the Doctor's dark brown suit jacket being wrapped around her shoulders. She turned around and looked up at him. He was staring out at the sea, his blue gray eyes reflecting the remaining light of the day. The storm clouds were approaching faster on the horizon. Even though he was her height, a lot shorter than his other selves by comparison, he seemed to project so much power. With the way he was standing, it was almost as if he was daring the storm clouds to approach him.

His gaze then returned to her, as if he knew she had been staring at him. He held out his hand to her. As she took his proffered hand, she again felt the warmth radiating throughout her body. A small sigh of contentment escaped her lips. She realized that had been an audible sigh and she blushed slightly looking at the sand. He gently lifted her head so he could look her in the eyes. "Yes, I felt it before and I felt it again this time," he said softly as he lightly stroked her cheek with his fingers. She looked surprised that he had admitted as much and was surprised by his touch. "Is it so difficult to imagine that I still have feelings for you, no matter how much time has passed since you were my companion?"

Rose was pleasantly surprised at what he had said. She was about to respond when they heard the Valeyard calling from the entrance to the cavern. "Doctor, Miss Tyler, I've found the Hand of Omega!" He then disappeared back into the cavern. The Doctor had dropped his hand from Rose's cheek once he had heard the Valeyard. He looked surprised but relieved that the Hand of Omega had been found, and by the Valeyard, no less. He looked back at Rose and before he could ask if they should proceed up to the cavern, she stepped closer to him and kissed him gently on the lips. He in turn deepened the kiss and wrapped his arms around her. She had done it without thinking. She had wanted to thank him for the sentiments he had proclaimed to her, but she couldn't think of sufficient words. She had decided to go with her instincts and, as the feeling of warmth completely enveloped her, she was glad she had done so. He, as well, was amazed that she was kissing him. He also felt a sensation of warmth flow within him. After such a long time being without her, he felt like he had returned home. Home made him also think of the Tardis and the Tardis made him remember his former selves, which were on their way here. He quickly and with much disappointment, stopped kissing her and backed a few steps away. She was breathing heavily. Hell, even his breathing wasn't completely even. He gazed into her eyes and stated, his eyes pleading with her to understand, "Rose, my former selves will be here any minute. They cannot know what just happened between us. Promise me you won't tell them about this."

She as well knew that her Doctor would not take kindly to the fact that she had again kissed another version of him. He was so understanding about all that had happened between her and the Fourth Doctor from that other universe. She knew he wouldn't be as understanding regarding his future self from his own universe, no less. She nodded her head in agreement and said, "You have my word, Doctor. But how will I hide it from him? He and I have bonded."

The Doctor then approached Rose and asked, "I know what I can do about that. We haven't much time. Do you trust me?"

"Always, Doctor," she quickly replied. He placed his fingers on her temples, which caused her eyes to close. He quickly and as gently as possible, wiped away her most recent memories of their kiss and the conversation leading up to it. When he was done, she began to collapse to the ground. He caught her and sat her down in the sand facing the ocean, at the exact place she was at when he had finished mentally contacting his former selves. "Goodbye, my Rose," he said softly as he lightly traced her cheek with his fingers. He quickly stood up and walked away from her, trying to get his emotions under control before his former selves arrived and before the Valeyard stepped out from the cavern again. He closed his eyes, breathing the cool salt air, and went about putting his mental shielding back in place. After about a minute, he felt like he could proceed with business and look at Rose as only a friend would.

A few seconds later, he heard the sound of a Tardis dematerializing on the beach.


	7. Chapter 7

_**Enjoy! More to come soon :)  
**_

Rose heard the sound of the Tardis dematerializing as if from a great distance away. She felt as if she had forgotten something. It was on the edge of her consciousness, but no matter how hard she tried to remember, she couldn't. It was only when the Seventh Doctor spoke, that she turned around and stood up. "Your Doctor and my Fourth incarnation have arrived." She looked in the direction the Seventh Doctor indicated and there she saw her Doctor and the Fourth Doctor walking quickly toward their location. Is it just me, or did he sound not too pleased that they're here, she thought to herself.

The Sixth Doctor came to stand next to Rose, took her hands in his and said, "Thank Rassilon you're alright. I didn't know what to think when I saw you being transported from my Tardis." I wonder why she's wearing his jacket, he thought to himself. It's not cold out here.

"I'm alright, Doctor," Rose replied, giving him a small smile. "Your future self and I were just about to head into that cavern over there. Just a moment ago, the Valeyard called out from the cavern that he had found the Hand of Omega."

Both the Sixth and Fourth Doctors looked surprised by this revelation. The Fourth Doctor asked, "How did something like that get here of all places? Didn't our first incarnation hide it at that funeral parlor near Totters Lane?"

The Seventh Doctor replied, "Yes, that is where he initially left it. As it turns out, there was some business on Earth that I needed to take care of. As a consequence of those actions, I had to move the Hand to a new location." He then grew pensive and stated, "There is a conundrum, however. This beach is not the location I had moved it to. Someone or something moved it here, which is inconceivable because no one knew I had the Hand and no one was around when I deposited it in the location I had chosen." He looked out at the sea, his expression distant, as if recalling some long forgotten memory. "We are not alone here. Apart from the Valeyard and us standing here, there is another force at work here."

Rose all of a sudden felt a chill go down her spine and she wrapped her arms around herself. The Sixth Doctor put an arm around her and drew her closer to his side. Apart from the Seventh Doctor's disturbing statement, she still felt strange. What was it that she couldn't remember?

The Fourth Doctor looked around at the ominous landscape they found themselves in, the storm clouds threatening with rain and lightning at any moment. Why does the name of this beach sound so familiar to me, he thought to himself in concern as he dug in his pockets for his bag of jelly babies. I know I've never been here before. Taking out the bag and opening it, he asked, "Jelly baby, anyone?" The others all took one and ate in silence, each pondering their own thoughts for a moment and wondering how exactly to proceed.

The Sixth Doctor looked towards the cavern, knowing the Valeyard was in there with one of the most, if not the most powerful sources of energy ever developed jointly by Omega and Rasillon, an energy that could be used for good or evil. I wonder what my future self used it for previously, he thought to himself in concern as he glanced inconspicuously at the Seventh Doctor. It was in that moment that he thought he caught a flicker of an indefinable emotion in his future self's steel blue gray eyes. Following the Seventh Doctor's gaze, he realized that it was in the direction of Rose. The emotion was gone in a matter of a few seconds, but it was long enough to give the Sixth Doctor pause. No, he can't have…not after all this time, can he? Shaking his head, the Sixth Doctor decided to put that uncomfortable thought to the back of his mind. It was not the time or place for such thoughts.

The Seventh Doctor had lost his concentration for a few seconds, as he had just happened to glance in Rose's direction. He had felt a momentary pang of jealousy at his former self, the way his arm was around Rose protectively. What had initially distracted him was Rose's shiver. It wasn't cold out here, not even for human standards. Yes, it could have been the approaching storm or what he had said about the Hand of Omega's location, but his instincts were telling him that something else was distracting her. She hasn't once looked directly at me. Why is that? Surely, I erased those pertinent memories from her mind. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw his former self looking in his direction. Dear Rasillon, I hope he didn't notice anything, the Seventh Doctor thought in concern. I need to say or do something to prevent my former self from even having that line of thinking.

As if on cue, the Fourth Doctor looked at the Seventh Doctor and asked in polite curiosity, "Well, as you had arrived here first, would you mind answering a question for me?"

He's got something up his sleeve, the Seventh Doctor thought as he recognized the practiced look on the Fourth Doctor's face and the slight gleam in his eyes. The Sixth Doctor was also looking at his Fourth self knowingly. The Seventh Doctor wasn't fooled, though. He remembered all too well, back in that incarnation, that that certain facial expression usually followed with a question meant to catch foes off guard and to gain the upper hand. Did he also notice my look towards Rose? The Seventh Doctor's eyes and facial expression showed no trace of any of his concerns. He wore a curious expression on his face as he responded, "Not at all, Doctor. Though I must warn you that there are certain things I cannot divulge to you or my Sixth self."

"Yes, Doctor. Our Sixth self and I would never dream of asking you about any of your adventures in your current incarnation. What I want to ask pertains to the period just before our Sixth self and I arrived on this beach. "Why did you allow the Valeyard to go looking for the Hand of Omega on his own?"

The Seventh Doctor breathed an imperceptible sigh of relief that he hadn't been asked 'what is the nature of your feelings towards Rose'. Still, his former self's question meant that he'd have to tactfully find a way to plausibly explain how he and Rose had spent those minutes before the other Doctors' arrival.

Before he could respond, however, they all heard a gut wrenching scream come from the cavern. Racing to the cavern's entrance, they watched in horror as the Valeyard writhed in pain on the ground. This wasn't the only thing that caught their attention. Next to him was an ancient looking rectangular metal trunk, the Hand of Omega, with the lid open, a piercing white light emanating from its depths.

"The damned fool!", exclaimed the Seventh Doctor as he started to rush forward to close the trunk. The Sixth Doctor had also begun to rush to the Valeyard's aid. Before either one of them could get close enough, the Valeyard and the Hand of Omega seemed to be caught up in some type of transporter beam and, within a second, both were gone.

It was at that precise moment that Rose screamed, clutching her head and falling to her knees. All three Doctors rushed to her side. "Rose!", the Sixth Doctor exclaimed as he tried to tilt her head up so he could look in her eyes to see what was wrong. Knowing she was in so much pain that she couldn't speak, he had hoped he could have tried to mentally project into her mind to find out what was happening. As he finally was able to tilt her head up, he was shocked by the sight of her eyes, which had turned a deep shade of red. He took his hand away from her chin, as if he had been scalded by her skin, and stepped back in horror.

The Fourth Doctor grabbed his Sixth self and dragged him back a few steps, at the insistence of the Seventh Doctor. They all watched as Rose stood up smoothly and turned her gaze, first to the other Doctors, and then to the Seventh Doctor. The cruel smile on her face made the Fourth and Sixth Doctors' blood run cold. Their future self, however, emanated power, his eyes clouding with the cold fury of the Oncoming Storm. Taking a step closer to Rose's form, he stated in a deadly calm voice, "Hello Fenric. What kept you?"


	8. Chapter 8

_**Although this chapter marks the end of one adventure, fear not, the Sixth Doctor and Rose will embark on another adventure in this story. There will be more chapters to come. Hope you all enjoy! Thanks to Wiggiemomsi for her great reviews and encouragement. The mention of catnip in this chapter is due to something she said to me in a review :)**_

"Oh, I've been here for quite some time, observing you, Doctor," Fenric stated as he made Rose's mouth form the words. "I was in the Valeyard's mind briefly before I had him knock you unconscious earlier. When I made Rose appear, I entered her mind, without her even being aware of my presence. I must say, Doctor, it was quite interesting to watch you get…reacquainted with your former companion," Fenric chuckled, pleased with the Sixth Doctor's look of shock. The Fourth Doctor, though, was not shocked by that statement, as he had suspected the Seventh Doctor's feelings in regard to Rose.

The Seventh Doctor, though, betrayed no emotion, save the fury visible in his eyes. Continuing to speak in a deadly calm voice, he stated, "Let my former incarnations return to the Tardis, Fenric. This is between you and me."

"Now wait just a damn minute!", the Sixth Doctor exclaimed angrily as he and the Fourth Doctor were teleported, by Fenric, back to the Sixth Doctor's Tardis. The Seventh Doctor next telepathically sent a message to both his former selves, stating in a voice that would brook no argument, "I'm sorry to have to do this to you both, but this is not your fight. I will save Rose. Stay in the Tardis, Doctors, until I say otherwise. Fenric is much too powerful for the both of you." Severing the telepathic link and shielding his mind from any telepathic intrusions from his former selves, he looked back at Rose, her eyes a deep red, and said, "Now we can get down to business. What is it that you need the energy, you had placed inside Rose's body, for?"

Fenric made Rose smile, in an almost appraising manner, and replied, "How refreshing it is that you have become more intelligent over the years, Doctor. No demands, from you, for me to release your former companion. No inane questions about how I was able to insert a bit of my own energy into her body when she was born. Your former selves would have been a nuisance in that regard."

"Why do you think I requested that you send them back to the Tardis," the Doctor stated conversationally, as he leaned against the cavern wall, both of his hands in his pockets. Fenric was a bit surprised at the Doctor's casual stance and air about him. Yes, the fury of the Oncoming Storm was still present in his eyes, but it was carefully reigned in.

"The Valeyard would have me use the energy, inside Rose's body, to annihilate the Daleks in his universe. Even though I had informed the Valeyard that was the reason for seeking out Rose and the Hand of Omega, in truth, I lied to him. Why wouldn't I? He is, after all, a future incarnation of you, Doctor, albeit from another universe. No, the Valeyard was used as merely a source of entertainment for myself and my mentor," Fenric said, watching the Doctor's expression for any sign of curiosity as to who his mentor was.

The Doctor, knowing that Fenric had dropped that bit of information solely to gauge the Doctor's reaction, decided not to ask the question Fenric wanted him to ask.

As the seconds ticked by, without the Doctor saying a word and looking at Fenric calmly, Fenric was the first to speak. "Surely, Doctor, you must be curious as to who my mentor was?"

The Doctor looked away from Fenric for a moment, as if he was deep in thought. After about ten seconds, a small smile briefly graced the Doctor's features. When the Doctor looked back again at Rose's red eyes, he replied with certainty, "Why should I ask a question for which I already know the answer? Your mentor was the Black Guardian." The Doctor then stood away from the cavern wall and slowly approached Rose's body. Staring straight into those red eyes, the Doctor asked, "Have you ever wondered, Fenric, what it is that makes me so different from my previous incarnations?"

Fenric made Rose nod her head in the affirmative and continue to look at the Doctor's eyes, which had clouded over once again with the fury of the Oncoming Storm. Finally, Fenric thought to himself, the truth about him will be revealed. Knowing the Black Guardian had to be listening in on this conversation, Fenric prodded, "Yes, very much so."

The Doctor continued, "What made me pause a few moments ago was a message I received telepathically. The Hand of Omega and the Valeyard are not where you teleported them to. They were intercepted and taken to a safe location."

Looking in disbelief and anger at the Doctor, Fenric asked in an enraged voice, "How is that possible? I sent them to the Black Guardian!" A new thought entered his mind as he asked, "The Valeyard was so certain that you had been given some of Omega's powers. Is that true?"

A small smile graced the Doctor's features. His eyes, filled with the Oncoming Storm, now held something else, something that made Fenric extremely uneasy. The Doctor's eyes now held a glimmer of piercing white light at their center, as he replied, "I misled the Valeyard."

Fenric, now confused, asked, "Then if it's not Omega, who is it?"

In the next instant, the energy being known as Fenric, was pulled out of Rose's body. Rose let out a breath of relief, her eyes closed, and an invisible force gently lay her body on the ground. She succumbed to sleep, as the golden vortex energy encased her body, healing it of the pain Fenric had caused.

Fenric, now nothing more than a small free floating energy form, could not even give voice to his overwhelming fear and panic that this was finally to be his end, for he had been seriously misled by his mentor. The Black Guardian had assured him that, safe within Rose's body, nothing could force his energy from her. He was assured that he could live within Rose's body, for a long while, with the Black Guardian's help. He was promised that the Black Guardian would finally kill the Doctor once and for all, without the Doctor being able to regenerate. He was promised the entire universe to do with as he liked, as his plans were to the Black Guardian's liking.

What the Black Guardian had failed to inform Fenric of was that Fenric had been nothing more than a pawn in a game of chess between the Black Guardian and the White Guardian. The White Guardian had won the game this time, therefore the Black Guardian lost. What that meant was that Fenric, in turn, lost his control over Rose. He also knew that without Rose, his energy would not last. The bit of energy he had sought out in Rose's body had just been destroyed forever, taking with it his last chance at refuge. Before Fenric was vanished from existence, he realized something else important. Of course the White Guardian would win this time . Gallifrey had just been destroyed by the Daleks in this universe. The entity responsible for the Daleks victory was not the Daleks, but the Black Guardian. It seemed so disproportionate, but it was just how the game happened to progress. It had just so happened that when the Black Guardian won at chess, the Daleks had a shot at destroying Gallifrey. This go around, when the White Guardian won, the Doctor needed his help to save Rose. Fenric, in his last few seconds of existence feeling thoroughly defeated, welcomed oblivion with open arms.

After Fenric was gone, the Doctor slumped his shoulders, closed his eyes, and sighed in relief. He felt the White Guardian's energy being taken away from his body, and felt the light and warmth of the White Guardian as a thanks and farewell echoed in his mind. The Doctor replied with his own thanks and farewell. He next felt his own energy, the Oncoming Storm, dissipate to the secured depths of his mind. Opening his eyes again, after a few seconds, he noticed Rose laying on the ground with her eyes closed and her expression one of content. The golden vortex energy had dissipated once it had healed her body and mind. He walked over to her, kneeled beside her, gently cupped her cheek, and gave her a tender kiss on the lips.

As his lips parted from hers, she opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Doctor", she sighed with contentment as she reached her hand to gently touch his cheek. She had remembered everything that had happened when Fenric was in her mind. Fenric had also made her recall the memory the Doctor had suppressed from her mind. "I still have the memory of you from before all this," she said softly as her hand moved from his cheek to move through his hair.

The Doctor was only a bit surprised at this revelation, knowing that Fenric would have unearthed the suppressed memory. Gazing at her beautiful eyes, he asked hesitantly, "Do you want me to remove the memory?"

To his relief, she replied, "No, Doctor. I want you…"

After a couple of seconds, he asked, "You want me to what?"

"To do this," she stated lovingly as she met his lips in a kiss. Caught up in the moment, he returned the kiss, reveling in the feel of her as he held her securely in his arms, running his hands over her hair and on her back. For a brief moment, he recalled being kissed by her in this manner while he was in his Sixth incarnation. He quickly put that thought to the back of his mind and focused on kissing her deeply. How he had missed her!

Rose briefly thought that she should tell him they should let her Doctor and the Fourth Doctor know they were alright, but she didn't want this moment to end. He's the future version of my Doctor and he still loves me, even after however long it's been for him without me as a companion, she thought to herself as they continued kissing each other passionately, savoring the moment. They both knew what had to happen. She would go back to her Doctor. He would carry on, without her. In his Sixth incarnation, he had been forced to let her go. Now he would let her go, this time as his Seventh self. He would let her go back to his former self, so that he would still have all of the wonderful memories of being with her in that incarnation.

After a few more moments, he gently ended the kiss. He stood up from the ground and helped her stand. Placing both hands gently on her cheeks and gazing lovingly into her eyes, he stated, "I love you, Rose. I always have and always will. My former self loves you more than he can say. You and he will have many more adventures to come. Do me a favor, Rose. Have a fantastic life with him."

At the mention of the words that sounded almost like déjà vu to Rose, as she thought back to what her Ninth Doctor had told her ages ago, bittersweet tears came to her eyes. The Doctor, not knowing the memory she was thinking of, but realizing how she felt, gently wiped the tears with his thumbs. "This isn't goodbye, Rose, not really. Although you may not meet me again in this incarnation, I don't doubt that you'll meet one of my future incarnations sometime down the road. You're jeopardy friendly and seem to attract any of my incarnations to you like catnip does to a cat," he smiled at her and chuckled. She also gave a small smile, blushing at the compliment.

"Now then, shall we meet back up with my former selves?," he asked, a bittersweet look in his eyes as he gazed at her eyes, cataloguing every single detail to memory.

Rose, not trusting her voice not to break with emotion, simply nodded her head in agreement. With her hand in his, they walked out of the cavern and down the beach toward the Sixth Doctor's Tardis, toward her home.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Here's a short chapter that connects the Sixth Doctor's and Rose's last adventure to their new adventure. Enjoy :)  
**_

Before she had entered the Sixth Doctor's Tardis, the Seventh Doctor and she had hugged each other tight. He had gently tweaked her nose and said, "Till we meet again, Rose." She had just nodded her head and smiled, not trusting her voice. As she had watched him walk away toward his own Tardis, she had a feeling that she would never see that incarnation of him again. He had, in the end, decided to let her keep the memory of their last kiss. She had been relieved and a bit worried about this, since she wasn't sure how her Doctor would react. As she had walked inside her Doctor's Tardis, she found him waiting for her in the console room. All he had to do was look in her eyes to know what had happened, for she had a look of sadness mixed with guilt. Instead of being angry, he had held out his arms to her. There was a look of understanding in his eyes, as if he had known all along. She ran into his arms and he enveloped her in a hug as she finally succumbed to the emotional rollercoaster of the past few days and began to cry. He murmured soothing sounds in her ear and comfortingly ran a hand through her hair as he held her.

As her tears came to an end, she looked around the room and asked, "Did your past self already leave?"

"Not yet, Miss Tyler," the Fourth Doctor replied from the doorway leading to the rest of the Tardis. He was leaning against the doorframe and smiling gently at her, a twinkle in his eyes. "I wouldn't leave without saying farewell."

Rose smiled as she stepped away from her Doctor and walked toward the Fourth Doctor. She held out her hand to him and noticed how he looked questioningly at the Sixth Doctor, as if to get his permission for something. She turned around and saw her Doctor roll his eyes, shake his head and reply good naturedly, "Go on, then. I know you want to."

With a curious expression on her face, she turned back toward the Fourth Doctor just in time to find herself enveloped in his arms. It was at this moment that he finally remembered where he had heard the name Bad Wolf Bay. He recalled a memory, that he had buried in his mind so none of his other selves could find it, and knew that time was of the essence. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and looked up to find the Sixth Doctor shaking his head in amusement, while turning away from them to focus on the Tardis controls. The Fourth Doctor took this opportunity to mentally project a vital message to Rose. He knew this would be the last time he would see her in this incarnation and it would be his only chance to impart this message to her. It took him a few seconds to mentally project it to her and another few seconds to submerge it in her memory until the proper time would come for her to recall it.

The Fourth Doctor finished his task and stood back from Rose, who hadn't a clue as to what he had just done. She smiled at him and he smiled back, just as the Sixth Doctor had looked up from the controls. "If you're quite finished saying goodbye, your Tardis is waiting for you in my conservatory room," he stated in feigned annoyance.

The Fourth Doctor shook his head, smiled, and headed out of the console room toward the conservatory. Once he made it to his Tardis, he quickly set the dematerialization sequence, choosing to drift in the vortex for a while. Once safely there, he allowed himself to think on what he had just done. He had fulfilled his obligation to his Eighth self, whom he and Sarah had met during one of their adventures.

While Sarah had been out of earshot, the Eighth Doctor had discussed a matter of vital importance with him and asked him to deliver a message to Rose Tyler. His Eighth self had stated, "You will meet Rose Tyler at Bad Wolf Bay. While there, you must impart a vitally important message to her without any of our other incarnations knowing. I'm sorry I can't explain the reasoning for that at this time. Please tell Rose the following, 'Do not trust the man who calls himself the Eleventh Doctor. Don't believe anything he says'." The Eighth Doctor had a look of such profound relief and hope after the Fourth Doctor had vowed he would deliver the message to Rose. While drifting in the vortex, The Fourth Doctor recalled how utterly perplexed he was at the time, wondering what kind of enemy would be successfully masquerading as his Eleventh self. Now, though, he knew who it would be, the Eleventh incarnation of the Valeyard.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Here's a short chapter which is the beginning of the Sixth Doctor's and Rose's next adventure. Enjoy :)**_

A few days of drifting in the vortex were just what the Sixth Doctor and Rose had needed. A bit of a holiday was what he had called it and rightly so. Their days were spent talking, laughing at each others funny stories, and just enjoying each others company. Their nights were spent making love. She felt such completeness being with him and knew, without a doubt, that she was utterly in love. He, too, felt more at peace and fulfilled than he had ever felt, especially in this incarnation. He had fallen for her hard, even though he knew that it couldn't last forever. Fortunately, he was able to keep that depressing thought at bay and just enjoy his time with her without dwelling on what may happen in his own personal time line. Unfortunately, even he couldn't have prevented the chain of events that began to unfold on their fourth day of drifting in the vortex.

He had been running a routine systems check on the console, while Rose had been taking a shower, when he picked up a faint distress signal. Oddly enough the coordinates were for Mycenae, in a time period he knew to be very peaceful for the planet's people. Putting aside his brief feelings of annoyance at yet something else causing him to cut short their holiday, he set the coordinates for Mycenae, while wondering what could have happened there to cause the Mycenaens to emit a distress signal.

It was at this moment, while he had a look of worry and concern in his eyes, that Rose entered the console room. "Doctor, what's wrong", she asked in concern as she went to stand next to him at the console.

"I'm afraid our holiday will have to be cut short, yet again, my dear. I just picked up a distress signal emanating from Mycenae," he stated, any hint of annoyance at their interrupted holiday overshadowed by his concern for the Mycenaens. At Rose's weary look, he said, "Not to worry, Rose. The time coordinates are for the 25th century. That's well after the century we were in when we last visited the planet."

Feeling slightly relieved at that bit of news, yet concerned as to what they would find when they'd arrive, she waited with the Doctor while the Tardis traveled the vortex toward their destination.

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The tranquility of one of the isolated woodlands areas of Mycenae was disturbed by the sound of a Tardis dematerializing. The door of the Tardis opened and the occupant walked out, carrying a specialized distress beacon. Picking a tree at random, he walked up to it and attached the beacon to the tree, punched in a complicated series of numerals, and used his sonic screwdriver to amplify the beacon's distress signal to where only another Tardis would be able to receive it. Satisfied with his work, he walked back into his Tardis, and made sure the chameleon circuit was working effectively enough to masquerade it as another tree. He had so much riding on his plan. If anything went wrong…no, he could not dwell on what could go wrong. He had to take things one step at a time. He had to succeed where his future self had failed.

For he, the Eleventh Doctor, the Eleventh incarnation of the Valeyard, would never accept what was destined to happen to the Gallifrey of his own universe. His Twelfth incarnation, had been utterly devastated the last time he had run into him. When he had heard what the Valeyard had said about Rose Tyler, he knew it couldn't be true. He recalled, as his Tenth self, looking briefly into Rose's memories and seeing just a hint of all she was capable of. In that incarnation, he recalled the intuitive sense that Rose was more than just an ordinary companion. The Valeyard had seemed to have forgotten all that and just took their Fourth self's opinion of Rose as fact. When the Valeyard had pointed out to his Eleventh self the memories of Rose that their Fourth self had shown him, the Eleventh Doctor had been amazed at how gullible the Valeyard had become in his advanced age. Needless to say, the Valeyard did not take kindly to his younger self's attitude and had left shortly thereafter. This had suited the Eleventh Doctor just fine, as he realized the Valeyard would not have the courage to do what would need to be done to save Gallifrey and to finally get rid of their damn counterpart in the other universe who was with Rose.

As the Eleventh Doctor checked his monitor, while awaiting the Sixth Doctor's and Rose's arrival, he detected another Tardis dematerializing nearby. As he watched his monitor, anticipating seeing the Sixth Doctor and Rose emerge, he was briefly disappointed by who he saw. It was a man who looked like he had stepped right out of Earth's Victorian era. As realization dawned on him as to who that was, he thought, 'dear Rassilon, this is fortuitous'. For it was none other than the Eighth Doctor.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Sorry it's taken so long to update this story. Hope this chapter is well worth the wait! Enjoy :)  
_**

As the Eighth Doctor walked toward where the distress beacon was attached to a nearby tree, he heard the sound of a Tardis dematerializing. Now which one of my selves could this be, he pondered to himself, as he turned away from examining the beacon. He felt extreme annoyance as he saw his Sixth self step out of the Tardis. Of all his incarnations, it had to be him, the one he truly couldn't stand. Well, at least he's wearing a coat that's more toned down, he thought to himself as he glanced at the multiple shades of blue adorning the Sixth Doctor's coat. He momentarily wondered why Rose hadn't stepped out of the Tardis yet. Noticing that his former self looked less than pleased to see him, he nodded his head in acknowledgment while fixing his expression to one of only mild annoyance and waiting for his former self to speak. He would be civil to his former self for Rose's sake.

As soon as the Sixth Doctor had stepped out of the Tardis, he had been prepared to see any of his previous selves or his Seventh self. Who he hadn't been prepared to see was his Eighth self. He was glad that he had told Rose to wait momentarily inside the Tardis. She had been puzzled as to why, but he had informed her that the other Tardis nearby could possibly be the Valeyard's. While he noticed his future self's momentary look of extreme annoyance at seeing him, the Sixth Doctor almost wished it was the Fourth incarnation of the Valeyard instead of this Victorian fop. He briefly straightened his coat, almost daring his future self to say something about his fashion sense. Deep down, he felt intimidated by this future version of himself that he just knew Rose would find extremely attractive. Knowing a thought like that wouldn't get him anywhere, he made sure his mental shielding had been and was currently up and fixed his expression to one of civility with barely a hint of annoyance showing in his eyes. "Good day, Doctor. I trust the reason you're here is due to this distress beacon," he asked as he walked up to where the Eighth Doctor was standing. There, that sounded civil enough and to the point. I'll allow him to help with the beacon and then we'll both be on our way. Rose won't even have to meet him, the Doctor thought to himself as he began to focus on the beacon, the likes of which he hadn't run across before.

"I would very much like to meet Rose again," the Eighth Doctor stated as he determinedly began walking toward his former self's Tardis.

Trying not to let his exasperation show through, the Sixth Doctor replied curtly, "Of course you would, but right now we need to work together to figure out why this beacon was placed here in this time period and in this location." Before the Sixth Doctor could continue, he saw that Rose had decided to take it upon herself to exit the Tardis.

She looked briefly in her Doctor's direction, wondering why he was looking so annoyed. She then noticed a man with his back turned to her, as he was looking in her Doctor's direction. Her Doctor gave her a small smile and stated, "Rose, this here is one of my future incarnations."

Before he could continue, the Eighth Doctor turned around, smiled at her, walked quickly up to her and enveloped her in a hug. He then lifted her off her feet and he twirled her around briefly, before placing her feet back on the ground. "It's so wonderful to meet you again, Rose," he said as he gazed into her eyes. She smiled at him, a bit out of breath at his ecstatic greeting. Wait a minute, she thought as she began to think on what her Doctor had just told her. He said 'future incarnation'. This man can't be…can he? She looked toward her Doctor, her expression one of weariness.

The Sixth Doctor knew what she was thinking, which is why he tried to delay the inevitable by telling her half the truth. With resignation, he shook his head in the affirmative. The Eighth Doctor looked momentarily confused when he noticed her change in demeanor and her glance at his past self. He looked up in time to see the Sixth Doctor nodding his head and then he glanced back at Rose. During this brief time, he had stopped hugging her and was holding her hands. When he looked back at Rose, he saw her gazing at him in a mixture of shock and such complete sadness that it hit him to the core. Before he could ask why she was feeling this way, she let go of his hands, backed slowly away from him, and made to run away. She only stumbled a few feet before she collapsed to the ground, her sobs shaking her entire body. He had started to walk over to her, but his past self put a restraining hand on his shoulder.

"This is what I was afraid of. I'll go to her. Perhaps it would be best if you went back to your Tardis for now. I'll contact you in a while," the Sixth Doctor stated in resignation as he walked over to Rose, bent down and enveloped her in a hug while murmuring comforting words.

After a few minutes, Rose, who had begun to calm down, said, "I'm sorry. I just wasn't prepared to meet him, knowing that in my universe, it was the Eighth Doctor who fought in the Time War and…". Rose couldn't complete the sentence, but she knew that her Doctor already knew what had occurred in her universe. She was so relieved that he already had seen her memories, so she wouldn't have to recount everything to him.

"It's alright, Rose. Though I do need to speak to him about fixing this beacon," the Doctor replied as he helped her stand up. He gently squeezed both of her hands as he said, "You don't have to stay out here if you don't want to. You can wait inside the Tardis. I'm sure he's now recalling the time when he was me and when I saw your memories of your universe. Remember, not all the events of your universe will be mirrored in my universe. He won't have to endure what his duplicate in your universe endured."

At this, she gave a small smile as the Doctor gave her a handkerchief to use. "Thanks, Doctor, but I'll stay out here. I'd like to apologize to him," she said as she wiped away her tears.

"There's no need to apologize, Rose," the Eighth Doctor replied as he walked up to where she and the Sixth Doctor were standing. "I've just now recalled the memories you had shown me while I was him", he stated as he glanced at the Sixth Doctor. As the Eighth Doctor came to stand beside Rose, he held out his hand to her, which she took. "Thank you for caring so much about me, Rose," he stated in a voice filled with gratitude and something else that she couldn't put a name to. His eyes were filled with such compassion that she felt the urge to hug him.

Before she did, though, she noticed something out of the corner of her eyes. Not far from where both of the Doctors Tardises were, she saw a man, dressed in a black suit fully emerge from a tree, of all things. He was holding something that was the shape of a pen. What occurred next happened in a matter of seconds, yet to Rose it seemed to occur in slow motion. Her Doctor noticed her curious look and gazed in the direction she was looking at. The Eighth Doctor noticed hers and the Sixth Doctor's looks and had begun to turn to look in that direction. The Eighth Doctor was still holding onto her hand and the Sixth Doctor was beginning to step away from them and toward the stranger. Before any of them could react, the stranger had pointed the object in his hand, which emitted a bright blue light on the end, at the Eighth Doctor and Rose. Both of them were enveloped in the blue light and were transported away.

The Sixth Doctor stared, for a couple of seconds, at where they had previously stood, shock and anger on his face. He turned back around just in time to see the stranger use the pen-like object (a sonic screwdriver?) at the distress beacon, which began to emit a loud beeping sound, as if it was now on a timer. The Doctor looked from the beacon back to the stranger, who was glaring at him with such intense anger that it almost made him take a step backwards. Standing his ground, the anger in his eyes matching in intensity with the stranger's, the Doctor called out, "Who are you and what have you done with Rose and my future self?"

The stranger had started to walk away into the woods, but turned back around at the Doctor's question. He gave a twisted smirk at the Doctor and yelled out, "I'm the Eleventh incarnation of the Valeyard. Unlike the Valeyard you know, I tend to finish what I set out to accomplish." He then turned around and made his way to one of the trees and proceeded to step inside it.

"Damn it! His Tardis was there the entire time!" the Doctor exclaimed in outrage as he began to walk back over to the beacon. If his instinct was correct, this Eleventh version of the Valeyard had just programmed it into some type of bomb. He didn't know how much time he had to disarm it. As he pulled out his sonic screwdriver from his coat pocket, he noticed the beacon's loud beeping sound had stopped. Unfortunately, it was now glowing a bright red, as if it was being overheated. An instant later, the beacon exploded.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Sorry for the long wait for this chapter. Real life got in the way again. Hope this chapter was worth the wait :)**_

The Sixth Doctor had managed to run far enough away from the beacon before it had exploded. Luckily, it was a very small explosion, resulting in minimal damage to the surrounding trees. "Oh, that was just bloody annoying," he stated out loud to himself, anger and sarcasm coloring his voice. "That explosion was just enough of a nuisance to keep me from running a trace on his Tardis to find out where he took Rose and my future self!" He quickly made his way back to the Tardis and attempted to run a trace on the Eleventh Doctor's Tardis to see if it had dematerialized at another location on this planet. It was a long shot at best, but it was all he could do at the moment.

At least she's with my Eighth self and not alone with the Eleventh incarnation of the Valeyard, he thought as he tried to keep his hopes up. Hmm, he had hinted at completing something that the Valeyard had attempted but failed to accomplish. Well, he succeeded in kidnapping Rose, but why would he need my Eighth incarnation? Since his goal is to try to use Rose's remaining vortex energy to defeat the Daleks in his universe before they destroy his Gallifrey, then wouldn't my future self get in the way of the Eleventh Doctor's plan? Unless he thinks he'd be able to make my future self just stand by helplessly as Rose is used and…oh, dear Rassilon, that's exactly why he's doing this! He knows that it would utterly devastate my future self to have to stand by helplessly as the vortex energy courses through Rose and ultimately kills her! Rose had said that her Ninth Doctor, from her original universe, had to remove the vortex energy from her before it killed her. Her mind and body could not withstand prolonged exposure to the vortex energy. If the Eleventh Doctor prevents my Eighth self from drawing the vortex energy away from Rose in time, she'll be lost to me and somehow my Eighth self, through some machination of the Eleventh Doctor's, will die and not be able to regenerate. At this revelation, the Sixth Doctor's face had gone pale and he collapsed to the floor as he missed the chair by the console. That's how my Eighth self will die and his last memory will be of Rose's dead body and the immeasurable guilt of not being able to save her. With his hands covering his face, he began to lose control, his weeping shaking his entire body.

A beeping sound emanated from the console to let him know the trace he had been running was now complete. He slowly got up from the floor, angrily wiping the tears from his face, as he read the results on the monitor. As he suspected, the Eleventh Doctor's Tardis was nowhere on Mycenae, but this was not all that had appeared on his monitor. The Old Girl had initiated her own scan for Rose, utilizing Rose's own quantum signature that was still in the memory banks. Now why didn't I think to do that, he wondered to himself. He quickly read over the results of the scan. The Old Girl had been able to locate Rose's exact time and location coordinates. As he had suspected, Rose was on the Gallifrey in the Valeyard's universe. The Doctor let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and sighed in relief as he lovingly patted the console and said, "You're absolutely brilliant, Old Girl! Now then, onward to Gallifrey," he stated with renewed determination as he punched in the dematerialization sequence and the coordinates the Tardis had given him. He then sat down, facing away from the moving time rotor, and mentally prepared for the battle ahead.

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Rose felt a sense of déjà vu as she awoke to feelings of dizziness and nausea caused by the transportation device. As she began to fully wake, she found herself lying on a bed in a dimly lit infirmary room. She felt a slight chill, even though she saw she was covered with a blanket. Hold on a minute, she thought to herself, I don't have any clothes on! What the hell! She bolted up from the bed, the blanket falling from her body, exposing her torso. It was then that she recalled everything that had happened up to the point of her and the Eighth Doctor being transported away. A chill ran down her spine as she got the feeling she wasn't alone in the room. She looked behind her, as the bed she was on was in the middle of the room. There, admiring the view of the top half of her naked body as he walked from behind her to come up next to the side of her bed, was the man she had seen in the woods on Mycenae. He gazed at her breasts appreciatively as she covered them with her hands. He emanated such power and control that Rose knew she had to be careful around him. She began to slightly shake in fear, wondering if he was about to rape her. She found his eyes and expression very difficult to read. She couldn't tell how he was going to react. Stuttering slightly, she asked as calmly as she could, "Who are you and where is the Doctor?"

The Eleventh Doctor tore his gaze away from her covered breasts and looked at her face. Ah, I see fear in her eyes and she's trembling. She knows not to push me, he thought to himself as he put on a charming smile and said in a gentle and soothing voice, "I'm the Eleventh incarnation of the Valeyard, Rose. Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to help you."

She found his voice strangely hypnotic and she found herself relaxing around him, even though a small voice in the back of her mind was telling her she had to get away from him and to not believe a word he said. As he approached the bed, his hand gently covered her hand and he gazed into her eyes reassuringly. She couldn't resist the pull of his blue gray eyes. Wait a minute, she thought to herself, I've seen eyes of that color before, but where? As soon as she had that thought, it seemed to dissipate like fog. She couldn't grab onto it to recall what was important about it. As he continued to talk soothingly to her, she found she was beginning to lose her focus as to what exactly he was saying to her. He had laid her back down on the bed and pulled the blanket all the way off of her. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his, even as she felt his hands gently massaging her entire body. She found her body reacting to his soothing touch and she moaned appreciatively. His hands then began running further down her body and before she knew it, he was on top of her. She found herself opening herself up to him. It was as if all of her worries had floated away from her mind. As soon as she began to think this wasn't right, his voice would be in her mind, erasing any spark of concern. She found her body aching for more from him as his fingers deftly caused waves of desire to course through her. With practiced ease, he entered her and made her his own.

He recalled how much he had enjoyed being with her when he was in his Fourth incarnation. Now, though, he enjoyed her for an entirely different reason. As he brought her to the heights of ecstasy, he reveled in how easy it had been to bed her. He remembered that his Fourth incarnation had opened up his mind to her. He would not be doing so this time around. As soon as he knew her body had been fully sated with his, he eased out of her and telepathically sent her a message to fall asleep. He didn't want her to take a shower. He wanted his scent to be on her so the Eighth Doctor would know what had occurred. He also wanted her to remember every moment of this liaison with him. It was important to his plan that she be amenable to his suggestions. Now all he would have to do, to get her to cooperate, would be to touch any part of her body in a certain way and she would yearn for his touch. He found it an enjoyable method of control.

Once he was fully dressed, he decided to leave the blanket off of her and to keep her lying naked on the bed. He walked out the door and down one of the many corridors of his Tardis. He stopped at a bedroom that he had deadlock sealed. Taking out his sonic screwdriver, he opened the door to find an irate Eighth Doctor pacing the room.

"What have you done to Rose? Rassilon help me if you've harmed her in any way," the Eighth Doctor stated in a deadly calm voice, his dark blue eyes ablaze with the Oncoming Storm.

The Eleventh Doctor grinned mockingly at the Eighth Doctor and replied, "You really should calm yourself, Doctor. Too much stress this early in the game won't be good for your health. Rose is sleeping comfortably in my infirmary. By all means, go and look for yourself. We'll be arriving at Gallifrey soon and I must go to my console room. If you have any ideas of attempting to override my Tardis controls, I must warn you, my Tardis is programmed to electrocute any one who attempts to do so." With that said, the Eleventh Doctor walked away from the Eighth Doctor and headed for the console room.

The Eighth Doctor quickly made his way to the infirmary. Upon entering the room, he was shocked to find Rose sleeping in the nude. Fear ran through him as he approached her. His superior sense of smell told him all he needed to know. As he checked her body for any bruising, his superior eyesight also told him that she hadn't been forced. He's used some type of mental control over her, he realized as he grabbed the blanket off the floor and placed it back over her body. He saw her clothes lying on another bed nearby and grabbed those to place at the end of the bed she was lying on. She looked so peaceful as she slept that he hated having to wake her up to the reality of what had just happened to her. He knew, though, that it had to be done. I wonder if he let her keep all of the memories of what happened to her, he thought briefly to himself. He then placed both hands on her temples and sent a telepathic message to her that calmly said, 'Rose, it's the Eighth Doctor. Please wake up now.'

As soon as she heard his voice, she woke up to find him gazing at her. Although he was smiling at her, she could tell by his eyes that he looked deeply concerned. An instant later, everything came back to her and she bolted up in the bed, wrapping the blanket protectively around her body as she shook with fear and began crying in shame. The Doctor enveloped her in his arms and she clung to him tightly as he comforted her. "Rose, this isn't your fault. He used some kind of mind control over you." At this, her shaking and tears slowed down and she began to calm down from the shock of it all. He ran his hand over her hair in a soothing motion as he continued to comfort her. He reached in one of his pockets and gave her a handkerchief, which she took gratefully.

As she dried her tears, she felt the anger taking over where the shame had been. She noticed her clothes lying on the end of the bed and said, as she let go of the Doctor, "I need to get dressed. Then I'm going to find him and make him pay." He was a bit taken aback by how deadly calm her voice sounded and knew he had to say something to prevent her from doing anything foolish.

"Rose, believe me, I want vengeance just as much as you do. We'll find the right time to act, but that time is not right now. If I attempt to override his Tardis controls, I'll be electrocuted and so would you if you attempted the same thing. I'm not sure what the energy output of that would be. It may be enough to cause this incarnation of me to die and to regenerate. An energy output of that level would kill you. No, we will find a way to defeat him. For now, we must stay the course. Promise me you won't do anything foolish on your own. I will be the one to deal with him when the time comes."

Rose was reassured by how confident the Doctor sounded and was a bit taken aback by the venom she heard in his voice as he uttered that last statement. Knowing he wanted to hear her make that promise, she replied, "I promise, Doctor, that I won't do anything foolish on my own. I trust you, just as I trust my Doctor." As she gazed into his beautiful dark blue eyes, she saw that he believed her and saw love for her in his eyes. She managed to give a small smile of reassurance and leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek. She could tell he was a bit surprised by the kiss and he even blushed slightly.

Getting up from the bed, he stated, "Well, I should leave to let you get dressed. I'll wait for you out in the hallway."

"Thank you, Doctor," she replied. He gave a small smile and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. She looked around the room and noticed a bathroom off to the side. She got up from the bed, grabbed her clothes, and headed to the bathroom and prepared a shower. As she stepped inside, the warm water washing over her, she was relieved to find some soap in there. She scrubbed her body clean, feeling immensely better as she was able to wash away all evidence of what had happened to her. I can't believe how the Eleventh incarnation of the Valeyard was able to control me like that. It seemed like it had all started when I looked into his eyes. I'll need to avoid doing so from now on so he won't be able to try anything else. I'm so relieved the Eighth Doctor is here. I don't know how I'd be able to cope with what happened if he hadn't been here to tell me it wasn't my fault. No matter how much she tried to rationalize it, she still felt as if she should have fought harder to try to stop what had happened. As she felt tears forming in her eyes again, she fought them down and instead let the anger course through her. She held onto the anger, knowing that she would need it in order to emotionally get through this. She knew that her Doctor loved her and wouldn't blame her for what happened. I hope he's able to find me and the Eighth Doctor. I wonder where the Eleventh Valeyard is taking us.

A few moments later, she remembered the plan that the Twelfth incarnation of the Valeyard had for her. She then recalled what her Doctor had told her, about him finding out the Eleventh Valeyard's plan for the Eighth Doctor. Oh God, no, she thought to herself as fear jolted through her body. It was all she could do to finish her shower and get dressed. Her hands were shaking and she almost felt dizzy and nauseous again. Just take deep breaths, Rose, and calm down, she admonished herself. 'The Eighth Doctor's not gonna let anything happen to me. He'll defeat the Eleventh Valeyard. He'll keep me safe. My Doctor will come to our rescue.' She kept saying those sentences in her mind over and over again like a mantra. I trust my Doctor and the Eighth Doctor. Why, then, do I have a very bad feeling that something is going to go very wrong?


	13. Chapter 13

_**Sorry for the delay. Hope this chapter was worth the wait. Enjoy :)**_

Rose walked outside the infirmary to be greeted by the Eighth Doctor, slowly pacing the hallway, deep in thought. He looked up at her and gave a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. Even though she could tell he looked gravely concerned by their current predicament, she saw grim determination in his eyes as well. He walked up to her, took both of her hands in his own, and asked, "Are you ready for this?"

"Yes, I'm ready," she answered back with strong willed determination. The anger was surging throughout her body, but she was careful to keep it muted around the Doctor. She would strike back against the Eleventh Valeyard when the moment was right. Even though she had promised the Doctor she wouldn't do anything foolish, she knew she would have to fight back. She'd have no time to warn the Doctor of what she was planning to do. She hoped that her plan would work. If the Doctor got angry with her about her method, then she'd deal with that afterwards. Right now, all she knew was that she had to stop the Eleventh Valeyard by any and all means necessary. She'd deal with the consequences of her actions later.

They made their way to the Eleventh Valeyard's console room, just as they heard the familiar sound of dematerialization. He looked up at them as they entered and stated, with a manic grin on his face and eyes that shone with barely controlled excitement, "We've arrived on Gallifrey!" As he looked more closely at the coordinates, a puzzled look crossed his face as he said, "The Tardis, though, has landed us about ten miles from the Citadel for some reason. That's odd."

When the Eleventh Valeyard didn't hear a response from either the Eighth Doctor or Rose, he asked in mock disbelief, "What? You aren't excited to be here, Doctor, to witness Rose becoming what she was destined to be, the 'Savior of Gallifrey'?

"She's not destined to be anything of the sort. Return Rose to my Sixth incarnation and I will gladly offer my assistance to you in Gallifrey's war with the Daleks," the Eighth Doctor offered with a hint of anger coloring his carefully measured tone. As he had been speaking, he had slowly walked closer to the opposite side of the console from where the Eleventh Valeyard was standing. Out of the corner of his eye, he had noticed that Rose was slowly making her way near where the Eleventh Valeyard was standing. To his relief, he saw that the Eleventh Valeyard hadn't even noticed Rose walking closer to the console, for he was too intent on figuring out why his Tardis hadn't landed closer to the Citadel. He may not have even heard a word I said, the Doctor thought to himself as he wondered, with concern, what Rose was thinking of doing. The Eleventh Valeyard, he noticed, was looking more and more concerned by how his Tardis was acting. He kept inputting the coordinates he was aiming for, but the Tardis wasn't moving anywhere.

All of a sudden, the Doctor saw Rose quickly walk the last few steps to stand right beside the Eleventh Valeyard. She next placed both of her hands on the Tardis controls and the time rotor started to move, the dematerialization sequence initiating. Her head had been bent downward during this time, but when she looked up at the Eleventh Valeyard, both he and the Doctor were shocked by what they saw. Her eyes were glowing gold as what looked to be a mixture of electricity and the golden glow of the time vortex coursed over and throughout her body.

The Eleventh Valeyard looked at the Doctor and asked in genuine fear and disbelief, "How is she doing this? No one can control my Tardis but me!" He then tried to push Rose away from the console, only to be met with a surge of electricity, which jolted his hands away from her and sent him sprawling to the floor in excruciating pain.

The Doctor quickly walked up to Rose and said in a soothing voice which barely masked his extreme fear and concern, "Rose, sweetheart, you need to back away from the controls. We'll find another way out of this."

"There is no other way," Rose stated with finality as she momentarily took her eyes away from the Valeyard's sprawled form on the floor to gaze at the Doctor. "I won't let him hurt you." At this last statement, her voice cracked and she clutched her head in pain.

"Rose, please listen to me. Your body can't withstand the vortex energy and the electrical output from his Tardis," the Doctor pleaded with her to listen to reason. He dare not touch any of the Tardis controls himself, for as he looked down, he saw that the entire console was crackling with energy. With relief, he noticed the time rotor slow down and heard the sound of dematerialization. He glanced at the monitor and saw that she had somehow brought them back to the correct time coordinates they had left from on Mycenae. He noticed Rose was actually reading the information on the monitor, even though it was entirely in Gallifreyan.

He next noticed that she had initiated a search for her Doctor's Tardis, only to find that his Tardis was gone. "No! Where is he," she cried out in anguish as another wave of pain coursed through her body, causing tears to stream down her face.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Eleventh Valeyard slowly get up from the floor. Before the Doctor could react, the Eleventh Valeyard lunged for Rose, his hands going around her throat, as he howled out in anguish. He was able to hold onto her for only a couple of seconds before his whole body, engulfed in golden energy, was forcibly thrown backwards away from her. The energy dissipated from his body, which lay unmoving. The Doctor looked back at Rose just in time to see her lift her hands from the console. Still, the vortex energy engulfed her body, though he noticed the electrical energy from the Tardis had dissipated when she had stopped touching the console. With her eyes glowing gold still, she turned to look first at the unmoving form of the Eleventh Valeyard and then to look at the Doctor.

"I had to do it. I couldn't let him hurt you, Doctor. I knew I could control it," she said as she tried to smile but failed as her face contorted in pain and she began shaking uncontrollably. "I'm trying to make it stop, but it won't stop. Why won't it stop?"

"Rose, I can help you, but you have to trust me. Do you trust me," he asked as his eyes pleaded with hers to let him help her.

"You cannot help me, Doctor. It will kill you and I cannot allow that to happen," she stated in anguish.

"I'll be able to regenerate, Rose. I'll be okay, but you won't be for much longer if you don't allow me to take the vortex energy out of you. Don't you understand, this is going to kill you very soon unless I help you!" he exclaimed as each precious second ticked by. I'm going to have to help her without her consent, since she won't listen to reason, he thought as he mentally prepared his mind for the onslaught of vortex energy he was about to absorb.

Just as he was about to touch the side of her face, the Tardis doors opened suddenly and there stood the Twelfth Doctor of this universe, the Valeyard. Without a word, he took in the entire scene, including his former self lying unmoving on the floor. With a few quick strides, he stood beside Rose and the Eighth Doctor. "Thank Rasillon I'm just in time. Don't sacrifice yourself, Doctor. Let me be the one to do this, to take the vortex energy out of Rose. It's the least I can do to make up for all of my transgressions against you and her."

The Doctor was taken aback by how sincere the Valeyard was and made his decision quickly. Nodding his head in the affirmative, yet still surprised by what the Valeyard was willing to do, he stepped away from Rose to allow the Valeyard to stand in front of her. At this point, Rose's eyes were closed, tears continued to stream down her face, and she was shaking even more. Without any hesitation, the Valeyard placed both hands on each side of her face and established contact with her mind as the vortex energy coursed through his entire body. His hands shook as he fought to maintain control, his face contorted in extreme concentration and pain as he strived to absorb all of the energy. Finally, after what seemed an eternity, but was actually about twelve seconds, all of the vortex energy was taken away from Rose. The Valeyard took his hands away from her face, slumped to the floor, apparently unconscious. Rose, her eyes still closed, began to fall to the floor, but the Doctor caught her in time. He gently laid her on the floor and was relieved that he could feel her pulse. He lifted her body and carried her outside the Eleventh Valeyard's Tardis.

He saw the Valeyard's Tardis a little ways off in the distance and was relieved to see his own Tardis right where he had left it. Deciding he owed it to the Valeyard, he gently lay Rose on the ground and went back inside the Tardis. He went over to the Valeyard and, upon checking for his double hearts beat, realized there was none. The Valeyard's face was deathly white, but his expression was one the Doctor had never seen on him before. It was one of peace. "Thank you," he stated quietly as he stood up and made his way to the door. He glanced at the form of the Eleventh Valeyard and noticed the regeneration process was beginning. The Valeyard, though, was not regenerating.

Not wanting to be anywhere nearby when the Eleventh Valeyard's regeneration process would be complete, the Doctor walked outside the Tardis, picked up Rose, and carried her inside his own Tardis. He lay her on a lounge chair near the console and quickly initiated the dematerialization sequence. Once they were drifting safely in the vortex, he went over to Rose, who was still unconscious. He had so many emotions roiling inside him when it came to her. He felt awe and pride at what she had accomplished, but he also felt fear and anger that she would risk her life in that way just for him. He wasn't even 'her Doctor', yet she still risked her life. It made him wonder how much farther she'd go for his Sixth incarnation. He busied himself with carrying her into his infirmary and running some diagnostic tests on her to make sure there wasn't any damage to her body and mind. He was amazed at what the Valeyard had done for her and was amazed even more when each test result came back with positive results.

Feeling emotionally drained, he pulled a chair over next to the med bed, she was sleeping peacefully on, and decided to rest a bit before contacting his Sixth self.

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A few minutes before the Sixth Doctor's Tardis was set to dematerialize on the Gallifrey of the Valeyard's universe, the Old Girl changed course, making a beeping sound to alert the Doctor to the fact that Rose's location had moved. After running another quantum signature scan, the Tardis located Rose on Mycenae. I wonder how Rose and the Eighth Doctor had thwarted the Eleventh incarnation of the Valeyard, he thought to himself as he felt immensely relieved to be seeing Rose again.

After a few minutes, the Tardis dematerialized on Mycenae. Without conducting a scan of the area, the Doctor bolted out of his Tardis. If he had waited another few seconds, he would have seen on his monitor that Rose's location had moved yet again, this time to another Tardis drifting in the Vortex. For the Eighth Doctor's Tardis had dematerialized about a minute before the Sixth Doctor's Tardis had arrived on Mycenae.

Upon running outside, the Doctor was confronted with one Tardis nearby and the other one a short distance away. He decided to check out the one closest to him, which had one of its doors open slightly. Walking inside the dimly lit console room, he came upon a sight he thought he'd never see. He noticed the Valeyard lying on the floor, looking for all intents and purposes to be dead. He bent down and felt for the pulse of his double hearts beat, but there was no pulse to be heard. What happened here? Why is he not regenerating? So intent was he on the Valeyard, that he didn't hear the sound of someone else standing up. For the Eleventh incarnation of the Valeyard had regenerated into his Twelfth incarnation, to later take on the name of the Valeyard. As the newly regenerated Valeyard walked over to peer at what the Sixth Doctor was looking at, he audibly gasped in shock and backed away in absolute horror at the fact that his older self wasn't regenerating.

He couldn't remember what had happened to make himself regenerate. All he knew was that the Sixth Doctor was in his Tardis hovering over his older self. Incorrectly connecting the two things, he assumed the Sixth Doctor had somehow killed his older self. At his audible gasp, the Sixth Doctor had looked up and was surprised to see what had been the Eleventh incarnation of the Valeyard now looking like a young Valeyard.

As the Doctor saw shock, confusion, then anger flash in the young Valeyard's eyes, he slowly stood up, his hands palms out, to show that he meant no harm. Speaking slowly and gently, fear and concern in his eyes, the Doctor said, "I know what this looks like, but let me assure you that I've just arrived and I have no idea at what has happened here. I can help…"

"Help?! I think you've done enough already, Doctor!" the young Valeyard exclaimed as he approached the Doctor menacingly, looking like he was about to attack. The Doctor backed up slowly and was about to say something else when the young Valeyard quickly ran up to him and punched him in the face. The Doctor staggered backwards slightly and was about to retaliate when the young Valeyard continued to punch him again and again on different parts of his body. The Doctor couldn't keep up with the vicious onslaught as he tried to defend himself as best he could, managing to get one punch in, hitting the young Valeyard's stomach. This just enraged the young Valeyard more as he forcibly pushed the Doctor toward the console. The Doctor held out his hands to brace himself against the console, not realizing the Eleventh Doctor had programmed it to electrocute anyone who touched the console. As the Doctor's hands touched it, a powerful surge of blue white electrical energy surged up the Doctor's hands and moved throughout his entire body, causing him to shake uncontrollably.

The young Valeyard watched in morbid glee at the sight of the Doctor being electrocuted. Before succumbing to regeneration sickness and passing out, the young Valeyard wondered if the Doctor would regenerate from such a powerful energy surge.

As the seconds ticked by, it took all of the Doctor's remaining reserves of energy to disconnect his hands from the console. He yanked his hands away and the electrical energy dissipated from his body. Slumping to the floor, his breathing extremely labored and his vision beginning to blur, he used what little willpower he had left to crawl out of the Valeyard's Tardis and make his way to his own Tardis. After kicking the doors shut with his feet, he crawled to the console and set the Old Girl to drift in the vortex. I have to make it to the zero room, he kept repeating to himself over and over again. He was almost to the inner door, when his arms gave way and he fell fully to the floor. By this point, his body was shaking even more and he was sweating profusely. Dear Rasillon, the end is near, he thought to himself in shock and fear. No, I can't regenerate now! I need to find Rose! The last thought he had before he succumbed to the darkness was that he would never see Rose again in his current incarnation.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Sorry for the delay. Here's a short, but important, chapter to tide you all over. Just when you think everything's going to end happily, things take a turn. This story, which is turning into an epic saga (lol!) is far from over. Enjoy :)**_

The Sixth Doctor awoke to find himself in a dimly lit infirmary that seemed familiar but which he knew instinctively was not his own. I must be in my Eighth self's Tardis, he thought to himself with relief. As he began to sit up, he saw that Rose was sleeping on a med bed nearby. "Rose," he said lovingly. He stood up, walked to her bedside, and gently caressed her cheek.

"You would have been very proud of her," his Eighth self stated, in a tone filled with pride, as he walked into the room to stand on the opposite side of Rose's bed from where the Sixth Doctor was standing. The Eighth Doctor's eyes, though, as he looked down at Rose, couldn't conceal his adoration for her. This look, though expected, gave the Sixth Doctor a twinge of jealousy. He had to quickly rein in that emotion so his future self wouldn't pick up on it.

"What she did was extremely foolish," his future self continued. "If not for the Valeyard arriving when he did, I'm not sure I would have been successful in removing the vortex energy completely from her." The Eighth Doctor then went on to explain everything that had happened from the time the Eleventh Valeyard had abducted he and Rose. He decided to leave out what the Eleventh Valeyard had done to Rose's body and mind for the time being, as he wanted to finish relating the entire series of events. He recalled how volatile his Sixth self could be and wasn't looking forward to how he would react.

As his future self was speaking, the Sixth Doctor got the sense that he wasn't being told the entire story. He decided to leave it for the time being, as his future self continued to explain the rest of the events leading up to how he had been found in his own Tardis and had been brought to recover in his future self's Tardis.

"I had almost convinced myself that the end was near and that Rose would never see me again as my Sixth self," the Sixth Doctor replied in a quiet, reflective voice as he gazed at Rose's peacefully sleeping face. He then looked up into the eyes of his future self and stated humbly, "Thank you, Doctor, for looking after Rose and for helping me."

The Eighth Doctor replied in a bitter tone filled with guilt, as he turned his back on his younger self and walked out of the infirmary, "I should have done more to protect her! The Eleventh Valeyard had me in a room that was dead lock sealed. I couldn't get to her in time!"

The Sixth Doctor walked out of the infirmary, up to his future self, turned him around to face him, and asked, in a voice filled with extreme worry and anger, "What do you mean? What else did he do to her?"

The Eighth Doctor, deciding he couldn't talk about it out loud, established a telepathic link with his Sixth self and showed him what had transpired. After the link ended, the Sixth Doctor stepped back to lean against the hallway wall, a mixture of horror, anger, and grief on his face.

"Oh Rose," he whispered in anguish as he covered his face with his hand. After a few moments, he was able to regain control of his emotions and stated in a determined voice, "I must take those memories away from her. She's been through too much already."

The Eighth Doctor put a restraining hand on his Sixth self's shoulder just as his Sixth self was about to reenter the infirmary. "No, Doctor. As much as I hate what that bastard did to her, we don't have the right to decide that for her. Everything she's been through has made her who she is today. If we begin taking away every single awful thing that she goes through, how can we expect her to grow stronger, as a human being." As his Sixth self was about to protest, the Eighth Doctor continued, "I know you'll do as you like despite what I say, so I'll make a compromise with you. Let's give her the choice. If she wants you to take those memories away, then so be it. You mustn't talk her into it, though. Don't mention that you're able to erase those memories. Besides," he said as he looked toward where Rose was still sleeping, "she may not have any recollection of anything that's happened. Her body and mind went through quite an ordeal when the vortex energy and the energy of the Eleventh Valeyard's Tardis had been coursing through her."

The Sixth Doctor saw the extreme concern for Rose on his future self's face and knew that it pained his future self to be the one to even suggest having Rose keep those memories. He knew, though, deep down that his future self was right. He nodded his head in agreement with his future self and they both began to walk back into the infirmary.

Just as they were approaching Rose's bed, her body began to glow gold with the vortex energy, but it was mixed with a dark blue light encircling her entire body. Within two seconds, Rose had been transported from the Tardis. Both Doctors stared in shock and horror at where Rose's body had just been. For there was only one race of people who were able to break through the Tardis's shields like that in order to transport someone from it. The Eighth Doctor looked at the Sixth Doctor, two pairs of eyes filled with the rage of the Oncoming Storm as both stated in a deadly calm voice, "the High Council of the Timelords."


	15. Chapter 15

_**I apologize for taking so long to post this chapter. Real life and family drama, unfortunately, got in the way. This is a short, but important chapter. I hope this chapter ties some things together and answers some questions. Of course, more questions will arise from reading this chapter. I couldn't make it that easy, lol! :)**_

The Bad Wolf had awoken, this time in a universe not her own. Unlike the last time in this universe, where the Valeyard's Tardis energy had dampened her power and relinquished some control to Rose, this time she felt herself stirred to her ultimate potential. At first, she thought her creator, Fenric, had awoken her, but she was mistaken. Fenric had been destroyed. Then what force had awoken her? She opened Rose's eyes and felt a golden opportunity had just been bestowed upon her. For through her eyes, she gazed upon the Great Schism of Gallifrey, the portal through which the time vortex could be seen in all of its infinite glory, both exhilarating and terrifying to behold.

On either side of Rose, was a member of the High Council. Off to one side, other High Council members stood in all their regal austerity, their expressions remaining stoic. Yet their eyes betrayed their intense level of hope and achievement at their plan finally coming to fruition. The Eleventh Valeyard of their universe, as well as the Valeyard, had failed in the mission to bring Rose to them. Therefore, the High Council felt justified in taking it upon themselves to transport her from an alternate universe in order to end, once and for all, the ongoing war with the Daleks. The universe they had taken her from was without any Daleks. Therefore that universe could do without her. If Rose were to die in this task, they would feel no guilt. To them, the end justified the means.

What the High Council did not take into account was that the power flowing through Rose was not the result of her staring into the heart of the Tardis in her universe of origin. All of their information about her had been gained by the Tenth Valeyard. He had seen some of her memories, but he had no knowledge of the true origin of the energy within her. No incarnation of the Valeyard, nor any of the High Council members, knew this most crucial piece of information. For if any of them had, they would have known that Rose could never be used in order to defeat the Daleks of their universe. Before they had brought her to the Great Schism, they had heard the Valeyard's excuses for why she could not be used in their plans. All of them had agreed that the Valeyard was unworthy to be a High Council member and had expelled him from Gallifrey.

The High Council thought they knew how Rose had managed to save her Ninth Doctor and to defeat the Daleks in her universe of origin, but they were mistaken. They only viewed those events through their own warped perception of reality. The real reason she had been able to save her Ninth Doctor and defeat the Daleks was due to her absorption of the Tardis's energy and emotions. The Tardis had been able to convince the Bad Wolf of the usefulness of the Doctor and the destruction of the Daleks. The Bad Wolf had obliged willingly because she chose to.

This time was different. The High Council had forcibly taken her away from her Doctor and her new home. They were willing to risk her death for their own selfish gain. The Bad Wolf would make them know the error of their ways.

She made Rose step closer to the Great Schism, noticing the hush of anticipation emanating from the High Council. Oblivious Time Lords, she thought to herself. Before anyone knew it, Rose had stepped through the Great Schism, the golden energy of the Bad Wolf protecting her body from the forces within the time vortex. As the Bad Wolf propelled her body through the vortex, away from Gallifrey and back to her Doctor, multiple Dalek ships had arrived on Gallifrey's doorstep. The Bad Wolf had chosen not to help the Gallifrey of the Valeyard's universe. As a result, Gallifrey burned.

During this entire time, everything that made Rose the person she was, her personality, her soul, was sleeping and blissfully unaware of what the Bad Wolf had done. The Bad Wolf was protecting Rose's mind. For if Rose ever found out where the energy within her had truly originated from and what that energy, the Bad Wolf, was capable of, Rose would literally go insane. Therefore, it was for the best that Rose believe the golden energy within her had come from her Ninth Doctor's Tardis.

The energy of the Bad Wolf could never be totally erased from Rose's body. The White Guardian had only been able to quiet it for a short time. For the Bad Wolf's energy was more powerful than even Fenric had anticipated. The White Guardian was aware of all of this, yet, had not shared this knowledge with the Seventh Doctor. The White Guardian had foreseen a time when the Bad Wolf would be needed in order to save the Doctor, and that time was fast approaching.


	16. Chapter 16

_**My writers block has finally ended! This chapter takes the story in a whole new direction. Enjoy :)  
**_

Rose awoke slowly, feeling as if she had been to hell and back. The last thing she remembered, she and the Eighth Doctor had been caught up in some type of transporter beam, with her Doctor staring in shock and anger. Looking around the med bay she found herself in, she realized within seconds that she was in the Tardis, but something felt different about it. She couldn't put her finger on it. She did, though, feel the soothing background hum of the Old Girl. Getting up slowly from the bed, she walked out into the hallway and towards the console room. Alright, this is definitely not my Doctor's Tardis, she thought to herself in curiosity as she took in the difference in appearance between this Tardis hallway and the Tardis she had come to think of as her new home. This must be the Eighth Doctor's Tardis. As soon as she fully opened the door at the end of the hallway, she was mesmerized by the sheer vastness of the console room.

Before she could fully gaze at every corner of the room, her eyes were pulled to the console itself, where she could see, behind the time rotor, her Doctor and the Eighth Doctor both working together. Their brows were knitted in extreme concentration and they had not even realized that she was standing at the door.

It was the Eighth Doctor who happened to glance up from the controls first. When he noticed Rose standing there, a huge grin on her face, he did a quick double take and blinked in shock before yelling out in sheer relief and delight, "Rose!"

The Sixth Doctor then looked up, had the exact same reaction as his future self and ran to her. She in turn ran to meet him. He hugged her fiercely, almost as if he was afraid she'd disappear. She in turn hugged him tightly, feeling as if it had been ages since she'd seen him. Wondering why she felt this way and beginning to fully realize that she couldn't remember what had transpired after she and the Eighth Doctor were teleported away, she glanced towards the Eighth Doctor, who was leaning against the console. At first, he had a relieved and happy look in his eyes and a wide smile on his face. When he noticed the look in her eyes, though, he became immediately concerned. It looks like she doesn't remember any of what happened, he thought to himself.

He was about to say something to temporarily soothe her concerns, when the Sixth Doctor blurted out, while he was still hugging her, "I can't tell you how immensely relieved I am that you made it back, safe and sound, to me and my future self. With all that transpired between you and the Eleventh Valeyard and then being taken from us to the Timelords of the Valeyard's universe, I had no idea how my future self and I were going to get you back. We were working on that problem right when you walked in." It was at this point that he realized her body had become tense. He released her from the hug, but still held on to both of her hands. Looking into her eyes, he saw her immense confusion and fear at what he had just said. "Dear Rassilon, you don't remember any of it, do you," he asked as he realized what a fool he was for speaking too soon without asking first how the hell she had made it back to the Tardis.

The Eighth Doctor walked up to where his former self and Rose were standing. Touching her gently on the arm, he asked as calmly as he could, "What's the last thing you remember?"

Rose stared down at her feet, trying to focus on remembering anything else that happened which coincided with what her Doctor had just told her. She felt their eyes on her and knew how concerned they were. The man I saw in the woods on that planet must have been the Eleventh Valeyard then, she thought to herself while trying to piece things together. I still can't remember what happened after we were transported away. What did my Doctor mean about me being transported away by the Timelords of the Valeyard's universe? Why would they want me, a human? In seconds, she had worked out the answer to those questions by recalling what her Doctor had told her a while back about the Eleventh Valeyard's plans.

She then looked into her Doctor's eyes and the Eighth Doctor's eyes and told them the little that she remembered. After she was finished, she noticed a look between both Doctors, as if they were silently communicating with each other on how much they should tell her of the events that transpired. The Eighth Doctor nodded in the affirmative and the Sixth Doctor looked as if he was attempting to choose his wording very carefully. "Rose, there's some events that…". Before he could get another word out, all the lights in the Tardis turned off. Within seconds, the outer doors to the Tardis opened, emitting a bright white light.

"Doctors, please join me out here. It is a matter of extreme urgency," called out a powerful, yet concerned sounding voice. Both Doctors looked at each other, recalling a similar memory from their Fourth incarnation. At the same instant, they looked at Rose and were shocked to find that her eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping while standing up. Before the Sixth Doctor could say her name and try to awaken her, the voice called out, "Your companion will be fine, Doctors. She must not be awoken while I'm speaking with you. Please hurry."

With looks of extreme concern for Rose, both Doctors exited the Tardis to speak with the White Guardian. As they approached the same wicker chair and side table they recalled from the last meeting, the White Guardian appeared in the chair. Not surprisingly, his appearance was the same as they remembered. There was a look, though, in the White Guardian's eyes, that wasn't present at their last meeting. It was the look of one who had seen something terrifying.

"Doctors, I require your assistance once again. The Black Guardian and I are responsible for maintaining the balance of every single alternate universe. Outside the reality of our multiple universes, or multiverse, there is another reality. This other reality has never imposed on our multiverse, until now. There are shadows emerging from the darkness. There are echos etched in chaos. The Black Guardian and I are not able to stop these forces from bleeding into our multiverse." The White Guardian then looked away from both Doctors, his troubled expression and haunted look in his eyes making him appear frail and on the verge of mentally breaking down.

After a few seconds of the White Guardian not saying anything, both Doctors shared a deeply concerned look with one another. The Sixth Doctor knelt down next to the White Guardian's chair and looked into his eyes. "We want to help you and our multiverse, but you must tell us what we can do. If you and the Black Guardian are no match for this other reality, then…". The Sixth Doctor couldn't finish the sentence. To think that both Guardians couldn't prevent whatever this other reality would do, once it infringed upon the multiverse, was a thought that was immensely terrifying.

The White Guardian eyes focused on the Sixth Doctor and, for an instant, a flicker of a grateful smile touched upon his face. "My friend, there is a way for you to help, but you won't like it." The White Guardian's face then gave way to an expression filled with sadness and regret. "For this mission to succeed, I will need the help of your eighth incarnation, not you."

At these words, the Eighth Doctor knelt on the other side of the chair, looked into the White Guardian's eyes and stated in a voice filled with determination, "Whatever you need me to do, I'll do it."

The Sixth Doctor's Tardis then appeared nearby. While standing up, the Sixth Doctor stated in a surprised voice, "Well, then, if I'm not needed, Rose and I will be on our way."

"No, Doctor. You are mistaken. You and Rose won't be leaving together. Your future self and Rose will be leaving together," the White Guardian replied regretfully. The Eighth Doctor stood up, a look of surprise on his face.

The Sixth Doctor had a look of shock that quickly gave way to anger. "What do you mean? Why must Rose go with him? She's my companion!" Immediately after his outburst, he forcibly calmed himself down and stated, "Forgive me, sir. I meant no offense to you."

"On the contrary, Doctor, there is no need to apologize, for I can understand how upset you must be. I realize you are in love with her, but you always knew the day would come when you would have to part ways with her. She cannot be your companion forever. You must move on. There is more for you to do in your current incarnation," the White Guardian replied sincerely but in a tone that would brook no further argument. "I'm afraid there won't be any time for you to say goodbye to her. She must not awaken until after I inform your future self of the details of the mission and the reason why Rose is so crucial to it. I will give him a set of coordinates soon and once he has input those into his Tardis, I will then have Rose reawakened.

The Sixth Doctor turned his back on the White Guardian and the Eighth Doctor and tried to calm the raging emotions within. His face was red with outrage and he couldn't stop the few tears that fell down his cheeks. His hearts felt like they were breaking. Oh Rose, what will I do without you, he thought to himself as he fought to regain his composure, at least until he could get back inside his own Tardis.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, turned around, and saw it was his future self, who looked just as upset for him as he felt. "Doctor, I will look after Rose and protect her with my life if need be. I will program my emergency program one to search out one of our past incarnations, whichever one of them is close by, in the event that something happens to me."

"Thank you, Doctor, and please find some way of explaining to Rose why I have to leave. Tell her I love her and always will," the Sixth Doctor said softly, his voice cracking. He shook hands with his future self and turned back toward the White Guardian. "Will I ever see Rose again in my current incarnation," the Sixth Doctor asked pleadingly.

The White Guardian looked into the Sixth Doctor's eyes and said sorrowfully, "I'm sorry, my friend, but you won't be able to." There was such finality in his voice that the Sixth Doctor immediately got a sinking feeling of dread. It was in that moment that everything seemed to make sense. Rose still has the energy from the time vortex within her, plus whatever energy that Fenric creature had placed in her. It was never known from where Fenric got his energy. I was never able to contact my Ninth or Tenth selves in my own universe of origin. My future self is willing to give his life to protect Rose. Since I could never see my Ninth or Tenth selves, that must mean that my Eighth self won't be able to regenerate. Dear Rassilon, the White Guardian is sending Rose and my Eighth self on a suicide mission! He then glared at the White Guardian, his eyes filled with the oncoming storm, and stated in a deadly calm voice. "No, White Guardian, this is wrong. You cannot send my Eighth self and my companion on a suicide mission."

"Is this true, sir," the Eighth Doctor asked the White Guardian in disbelief.

The White Guardian had a feeling that the Sixth Doctor would have pieced everything together, but had been hoping it wouldn't have happened till after the fact. "There are many possible outcomes to this mission, one of which is the death of you, Eighth Doctor, and Rose Tyler. Sixth Doctor, you must understand that the fate of our multiverse rests in Miss Tyler's hands. She is unaware of the true power that lies within her. I've already told you too much. You must leave now," the White Guardian stated resolutely. Before the Sixth Doctor knew what was happening, he was transported directly inside his Tardis, the dematerialization sequence began automatically, and the Tardis dematerialized.

The Eighth Doctor stared at the spot where the Sixth Doctor's Tardis had been. He then looked back at the White Guardian, his expression stoic, yet his emotions were reeling. How could the White Guardian do this to my former self, to so callously separate him from Rose without giving him the opportunity to say goodbye. He then recalled a new memory of his Sixth self waking up in the Tardis feeling disoriented and not being able to recall anything. He remembered his Sixth self feeling panicked upon realizing Rose wasn't aboard. He recalled, as his Sixth self, a distress signal diverting his attention towards his next adventure, alone without her.

The Eighth Doctor focused on the present and saw the White Guardian looking at him calmly. "I'm sorry that your Sixth self will never know what happened to Rose, but it was best this way. When he regenerates into his Seventh self, he will see Rose again, as you recall."

"What about Rose? What do I tell her? She's going to be heartbroken," the Eighth Doctor replied as he looked toward his own Tardis.

"Have faith, my friend. You will know the right thing to say. Now, we must turn to the crucial matter at hand. Rose holds the key to the salvation of our multiverse. The energy that Fenric had placed within her is not energy that originated in our multiverse. Yes, he had used some of his own energy, but he had wandered outside our boundaries and had brought a new energy back with him. Even he did not fathom the true consequences of what he had done. Yes, the other reality had never intruded upon our own reality before, but there was never anything stopping them from doing so. It appears the energy Fenric had taken is now missed by those in that other reality. A way must be found for Rose to transfer that energy back into that other reality. It is my hope, as well as the hope of the Black Guardian, that this will appease those in the other reality to the extent that they never cross our boundaries. Right now they are too close and we dare not let this problem linger for longer than necessary."

The White Guardian closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened them, he stated, "I have transferred the coordinates to your Tardis. Your ship will now know how far to go next to our boundary. Once you arrive there, the Black Guardian and I will open up a small part of the boundary. At that time, Rose must transfer all of her energy back into the alternate reality."

The Eighth Doctor, who was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of this to say the least, asked, "Just how is Rose supposed to release this energy that she doesn't even consciously know she has? How in the name of Rassilon will I be able to explain all of this to her?"

"That is the crux of the matter, my friend. She must not consciously know about the energy inside her or be conscious when she has to transfer the energy. It is your job to telepathically reach the energy source within her and persuade it to return to its own reality," the White Guardian stated adamantly.

"You're talking as if the energy inside Rose is an intelligent energy being. What is this energy being called?" the Eighth Doctor asked, his eyes filled with fear and anxiety.

The White Guardian simply stated, "It is known as The Bad Wolf."


	17. Chapter 17

_**Here's a short but important chapter. Enjoy :)**_

Once the farewells were exchanged, the Eighth Doctor entered his Tardis, closed the door, and leaned against it with his eyes closed. None of this should be happening, he thought to himself wearily. The Sixth Doctor should be the one to go on this mission, not myself. A moment later, the dematerialization sequence automatically began. No turning back now, he thought to himself as he mentally prepared for what he'd have to do. He opened his eyes and walked to the console, reading the coordinates to see where exactly this boundary was located. Suddenly, he had a strange feeling, as if he was being observed. Of course, Rose must be waking up, he thought to himself as he sighed and looked up toward where she was standing. The sight that greeted his eyes caused fear to slam through his body.

It looked like Rose, except her soul was no longer looking back at him. The eyes glowed golden, yet conveyed no warmth. He felt he was staring into depths as ancient and unforgiving as time itself. He had to consciously stop his knees from shaking. Holding onto the console, for fear that he wouldn't be able to stand upright on his own, he stated in a voice he hoped didn't sound too shaky, "You must be The Bad Wolf."

She had been observing him quietly since he had walked through the Tardis door, yet had decided to make her presence known just a few moments ago. The Bad Wolf could read the Eighth Doctor like an open book. She sensed his fear, yet also sensed his weariness and sadness at what had transpired regarding the Sixth Doctor and The White Guardian. Realizing he posed no threat to her, she purposely dimmed and changed her eye color to look closer to Rose's, in order to ease the Doctor's fear. It worked and he visibly relaxed, easing his grip on the console and standing up without holding onto it for support.

"I gather you have read my thoughts and are aware of why the Sixth Doctor is no longer here with Rose," the Doctor asked in a calmer voice as he slowly walked away from the console and toward The Bad Wolf.

She watched him slowly approach her and took the chance to admire his appearance. Being privy to Rose's memories, she understood why Rose loved the Sixth Doctor. She loved every incarnation of him she had ever had the privilege to meet and the Eighth Doctor was no exception. Knowing the Doctor was waiting for her to respond, the Bad Wolf stated confidently, "Yes, I am aware of all that has transpired. The White Guardian did what he felt was best. Unfortunately, the White Guardian's logic is flawed."

Stunned by this pronouncement, all the while noticing The Bad Wolf's voice was similar to Rose's save for the echo like quality and feeling of power projected, the Doctor asked, "How is the White Guardian's logic flawed?" He had stopped walking and now stood about five feet away from her.

The Bad Wolf looked into the distance, as if recalling an ancient memory, and replied, "It is true that Fenric had traveled to my reality and had absorbed energy that did not belong to him. He had then placed a mixture of that energy and his own energy into Rose's body when she was born. Throughout her life, it has grown to become its own sentient being, myself. What the White Guardian asks is impossible to accomplish. I am a part of Rose and Rose is a part of me. Take me away from the equation and Rose's body will die. The White Guardian knows this. He also believes that if I am returned to the other reality, then that reality will not infringe upon your multiverse. He is working from a false premise and he knows it. The only way energy from the other reality can survive in your multiverse is if that energy attaches itself onto living beings, from your multiverse, who wander into the other reality. My energy, derived from that other reality, could never survive on its own in your multiverse. This is why I can never be taken away from Rose's body."

The Eighth Doctor was bewildered by all that he had just been told. He could tell that The Bad Wolf was telling the truth. He felt it in his gut. He realized that when he had been speaking with the White Guardian, he felt as if he hadn't been told the entire truth, that the White Guardian's actions pertaining to the Sixth Doctor were utterly wrong. "I believe that what you say is true, Bad Wolf. If the White Guardian knew all of this from the beginning, then what was his purpose for taking the Sixth Doctor away from Rose and having me try to persuade you to return to the other reality?"

The Bad Wolf smiled grimly and replied, "I am as powerful as the White Guardian and Bad Guardian combined. Therefore, they wish to eliminate me. They don't care if Rose, you, and your Tardis dies. My primary concern is for Rose's safety. For her emotional and physical well-being , you and your Tardis must survive. Rose must be returned to her Doctor. That will not happen so long as the White and Black Guardians exist. They must be destroyed."


	18. Chapter 18

_**Enjoy :)**_

The Eighth Doctor, utterly perplexed, asked, "Just how in the name of Rassilon are you going to destroy the White Guardian and Black Guardian?!"

The Bad Wolf answered in response, "First things first. I sense that we're nearing the boundary. I need you to record your message for the Emergency Program One of your Tardis." At his questioning look, The Bad Wolf replied, "Trust me. Leave a message to Rose to inform her that the Tardis will automatically take her to whichever one of your incarnations is closest to the boundary's set of coordinates. Remind her it may take some time, as the boundary is not near any planet your past incarnations have ever visited. Also tell her she'll be able to see her Doctor soon."

Feeling a sense of dread that he may not make it through this, he did as she instructed. After he was finished with the message, he relayed his wishes telepathically to the Old Girl. He felt her soothing hum in his mind and was relieved that she sensed no malice toward The Bad Wolf.

"Now, the next phase of the plan can begin," The Bad Wolf stated, after sensing the Eighth Doctor's completion of the task and that they had arrived at the boundary. "We will wait until the White and Black Guardians create a small aperture in the boundary."

After a few seconds of silence, the Doctor asked in slight annoyance and apprehension, "Well, aren't you going to provide me with further details so I'll know how this plan of yours is supposed to work?"

"Relax, Doctor. I will relay more to you at the precise moment you will need to know," she stated calmly with her arms crossed, staring at the doors leading outside the Tardis. The Doctor noticed that her eyes had begun to glow again and he had to look away from her. Looking into her eyes reminded him too much of when he had, as a boy, looked into the Great Schism on Gallifrey.

Sensing his discomfort, yet knowing it would embarrass him to mention it, she made sure to keep her eyes turned from him and stated, "Once the aperture is created, you will position the Tardis on the boundary line. Be sure the outer doors of the Tardis are facing into the other reality. Once that is done, I will open the Tardis doors. Even with the shields in place, the energy from the other reality will be able to enter the Tardis. Once enough energy has been absorbed into you, I will shut the Tardis doors and you will position the Tardis once again on your side of the boundary. I will then absorb the energy from your body and will add it to my own. At this point, the White and Black Guardians will wonder what has happened. The White Guardian will bring the Tardis to him and the Black Guardian. Once the Tardis doors open, I will do what is required. Any questions?"

Before the Doctor could even think of a question, The Bad Wolf replied, "Too late. The Boundary is being opened."

The Doctor positioned the Tardis as instructed. The Bad Wolf opened the outer doors and all the Doctor could do was to stare in shock as waves of golden energy particles swept inside his Tardis towards him. Briefly, he wondered why the The Bad Wolf couldn't just absorb this new energy herself. An instant later, his vision had changed and everything looked held a golden hue. He felt a few degrees warmer than normal, but was relieved that those were the only symptoms he had so far. To be on the safe side, he made sure his mental shields were in place. He had a feeling, though, that The Bad Wolf had been able to read him like an open book.

Once a sufficient amount of energy had been absorbed by the Doctor, The Bad Wolf closed the Tardis doors. The Doctor repositioned the Tardis back on the other side of the boundary.

"There is no time for discussion. Thank you for helping us," The Bad Wolf stated graciously as she stood closer to the Doctor, who was looking down at the readouts on the console. He had programmed the Old Girl to take as many energy readings of the other reality as possible, since he knew this would be his only chance to venture into it.

Before he could ask how she was going to absorb the energy from him, she lifted his chin gently so he was facing her. His eyes were open and appeared to lose focus as he stared into their ancient depths. She saw the traces of golden energy strands in his eyes as she leaned in to kiss his lips. Immediately, the golden energy began to transfer into hers and Rose's body. Not until she had deepened the kiss did the Doctor respond in kind by kissing her back fervently. At first, he had been too shocked to kiss back. He realized that, if something went horribly wrong with the plan, then this would be his only chance to kiss Rose goodbye. Therefore, he put everything he had into it, searing it into his memory.

The Bad Wolf knew what the Doctor was feeling and decided it would be worth the risk to allow Rose's subconscious to remember, for a few seconds, the feeling of being kissed by the Doctor, surrounded by golden light. She would think it nothing more than a dream. After that was taken care of, The Bad Wolf ended the kiss and stepped back from the Doctor. He seemed momentarily dazed and weakened, but she noticed that all of the energy was out of his body. He will recover, she thought to herself with relief. He looked up at her and she gave him one last small smile of gratitude, which he reciprocated in kind before he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

A moment later, the Tardis lights went out and the outer doors opened, revealing the bright light of the White Guardian. The Bad Wolf, her eyes blazing with the added energy along with her own energy force, stepped outside the Tardis and was met by the White Guardian and Black Guardian. They both were seething with anger, but she sensed their terror of her. She was more than a match for them and they knew it. Still, they would not give in. They threw everything they had at her, and she retaliated in kind. Her golden energy pushed back against the White Guardian's white hot energy and the Black Guardian's ice cold black energy. Time had no meaning between the three beings. It was a battle of strength and willpower to see who would outlast the other.

In the end, the White and Black Guardians' powers were depleted almost completely. They stumbled backwards and fell, looking up at her in terror. She could have destroyed them, but she could not do it. She knew they deserved it, for what they had put Rose and each of the Doctors through. She briefly thought back to when she had let the Gallifrey of the Valeyard's universe burn. Enough damage has been done to this reality, by all of us, she sighed to herself. For the first time, she felt as ancient as she was. She also knew the White and Black Guardians were required in order to maintain the balance between good and evil amongst the multiple universes in this reality. For these reasons, she showed them mercy. The White and Black Guardians were speechless and could only nod their heads in agreement as she ordered them to no longer intervene in the lives of Rose and all incarnations of the Doctor.

As she turned around to walk back into the Tardis, she felt something horribly wrong. Fighting the White and Black Guardians had severely drained the energy she was comprised of. She stumbled into the Tardis, closed the doors, and set the dematerialization sequence to drift in the vortex. She was having trouble thinking and her vision was about to go. She crawled over to where the Eighth Doctor had collapsed on the floor and took his hand in hers. A moment later, darkness consumed The Bad Wolf.


	19. Chapter 19

_**Here it is, the final chapter of my epic story. I'm sorry it took so long to finish. I had a bad case of writers block for months. I wanted to wrap this story up so I could focus on my other story, "Into The Night". I hope to write another 6th Doctor/Rose story within these next few months. Thanks to everyone who's commented and favorited this story. Enjoy :)**_

The Eighth Doctor awoke to the feel of his hand being held. He looked over and saw Rose, or was it still The Bad Wolf, lying next to him unconscious. Squeezing her hand gently, he rose to a sitting position and checked her pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief as he noted it was normal. Deciding not to take any chances, he carefully picked her up and carried her to the med bay.

Once he had finished his last test, to make sure all her vital signs were normal and she was in fact just sleeping, the Tardis materialized a piece of equipment over the top of her med bed. It was something the Doctor had not seen since his Sixth incarnation, the quantum signature scanner. "Old Girl, why do you want me to run a quantum signature scan on Rose at this moment?", he telepathically asked his ship. The message he received in return made him feel like literally jumping for joy. He quickly activated the scanner and ran back to the console room, checking the time vortex with the long range sensors. If the Old Girl was correct, then Rose's quantum signature would act as a beacon for his Sixth incarnation's Tardis. At this exact moment in his Sixth incarnation's personal timeline, the Tardis was instructing him to check the long range sensors for Rose's quantum signature. Both Tardises, even in different time lines, were able to still communicate with each other, enacting a plan that neither Doctor had even thought of.

A few minutes into the scan, Rose's eyes opened, but it wasn't her soul that peered out of them. The Bad Wolf smiled as she saw the quantum signature scanner over top of her med bed, the blue light steadily running up and down Rose's body. She immediately knew what the Tardis was doing. She sat up from the med bed and walked to the console room.

The Doctor looked up as the Bad Wolf entered. He noticed she had dimmed the energy emanating from Rose's eyes, for which he was grateful. It was unnerving to look at that kind of ancient and powerful energy. "So what did happen with the White and Black Guardians?", he asked in a voice mixed with curiosity and concern, as he continued to check the long range sensors.

"I showed them mercy, Doctor. I knew they would be needed to bring balance to this reality's multiverse. I made them promise never to interfere in Rose's life or in the lives of all of your incarnations. They agreed. I believe they will keep their word," the Bad Wolf replied with total confidence and sincerity. The Doctor breathed a sigh of relief at this news. Although he despised what the White Guardian had done to his Sixth incarnation, he knew how crucial both the White and Black Guardians were to maintaining balance in this multiverse.

A beeping sound emanated from the long range sensors. The Doctor smiled widely as he stated, "It's his Tardis. He'll be within range in a few minutes." The Bad Wolf smiled at him and stated, "This is the point where I will become dormant within Rose. I will only awaken when needed. Till we meet again, Doctor." Rose's eyes closed and her body began to slump to the floor. The Doctor caught her just in time and carried her over to the sofa by one of his book shelves. He knelt next to the sofa, moving a stray strand of hair away from her closed eyes. "I wish we had met under better circumstances, Rose," he said softly to himself as he gazed lovingly at her, not knowing if he would ever meet her again in his current incarnation or in any of his future incarnations. As he heard the sound from the console, informing him that his Sixth incarnation had positioned his Tardis doors to line up with the doors of his own Tardis, he quickly kissed her on the forehead, stood up, and opened his Tardis doors. He was met by the sight of the doors of the other Tardis opening at the same time, a force field surrounding both entrances to keep in the oxygen.

Both Doctors gave each other a smile filled with relief that each of their Old Girls had come through for them yet again. The Sixth Doctor walked into the Eighth Doctor's Tardis, looking around for Rose. As soon as he spotted her sleeping on the sofa, he quickly walked over to her, knelt beside her, and gently cupped her cheek. "I'm here, Rose," he telepathically projected to her in a voice filled with relief and love.

Her eyes fluttered open after a moment, and she smiled at the sight that greeted her. "Where else would you be? You were here before," she replied sleepily as she stretched her arms. She felt physically tired, yet felt as if she had been sleeping for quite a while. He smiled at her and gazed upon her as if he hadn't seen her in ages. She could tell he had been quite upset about something but now it was subsiding. The Eighth Doctor came over to stand near the sofa, a soft smile on his face. Rose could tell that he was immensely relieved about something, but there was also sadness in his eyes that she hadn't recalled seeing earlier. "Did something else happen that I should know about?," she asked as she sat up on the sofa with her Doctor sitting next to her holding her hands.

Before his former self could say anything, the Eighth Doctor replied smoothly, "Nothing for you to worry about now. We just had some trouble with some old 'friends' of ours. One of them had put you under a trance and had tried to separate your Doctor from us. Fortunately, their plans failed. We had help from…a very special ally."

The Sixth Doctor, getting a sense of what occurred from his future self's words, or lack thereof, nodded his head in agreement. "The important thing is that you're safe and we can finally pick up where we left off. I believe we were about to go on our vacation," he replied as he stood up and helped Rose off the sofa. He could tell that she felt physically weak and still looked tired. Yes, a relaxing vacation is what we both need, he thought to himself. He looked at his future self and could see the sadness in his eyes. Knowing his future self would want to say a proper goodbye to Rose, he stated, "I'll just go to my Tardis and prepare the coordinates." He shook hands with his future self and stated solemnly, "Thank you, Doctor, for everything."

"No thanks are needed, Doctor. Before you go…". The Eighth Doctor touched his former self's temple and established a mental link, showing him all of the memories of the events that occurred after the White Guardian had made him leave. The link lasted for about ten seconds, but it was enough time for the Eighth Doctor to impart a final important message to his former self. "The Bad Wolf is dormant inside Rose and will reawaken only when needed." The Sixth Doctor nodded his head in complete understanding, putting the memories he was shown aside for him to process later.

As the Sixth Doctor left the console room for his own Tardis, Rose stepped closer to the Eighth Doctor. "I guess this is goodbye then. I feel like I hardly know this 'you'. I wish we had met under different circumstances," she said with compassion, not even knowing she had mirrored what he had said to her while she had been asleep.

He took her hands in his, gazed into her eyes, and replied with hope, "I'm sure we'll meet again, Rose. Perhaps not while I'm in this current incarnation, but sometime in my own personal timeline we're bound to meet." He cupped her cheek softly, leaned toward her, and gently kissed her lips. It was a chaste kiss, but one that managed to convey what words could not. As the kiss ended, she hugged him, kissed him on the cheek, and said softly in his ear, "Thank you for whatever you did to help us." She pulled slowly away from him. He kissed each of her hands and replied in a voice filled with emotion, "Anything for you, Rose." He let go of her hands and she turned around to leave his Tardis. Watching her leave and enter into his former self's Tardis was one of the hardest things he ever had to do. Shutting his Tardis doors, he leaned against them and closed his eyes with his head bowed. After a few moments, he raised his head and, with a look of determination, walked quickly up to the console. Punching a few buttons, he asked the Old Girl with a hint of his old enthusiasm returning, "Where shall we go to next?"

As Rose walked into her Doctor's Tardis and shut the doors, she leaned against them, watching her Doctor in action at the console, pressing buttons and pushing levers, his excitement and happiness rolling off him in waves. She smiled widely at the sight of him, taking in every detail, feeling as if it had indeed been quite a while since she had really gazed at him. Feeling her eyes upon him, he turned his head to look at her and asked flirtatiously, "Admiring the view?"

"Very much so," she replied back in kind as she walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around him. He stopped what he was doing and just relished in her touch, sighing in contentment with his eyes closed. He then turned around, enveloped her in his arms and kissed her passionately. As their kiss ended, he asked, "Now then, where would you like to go?"

Smiling up at him, she replied lovingly, "Anywhere and any when, so long as I'm with you."

_**Fin**_


End file.
